A variety of canine and feline tissues collected during endoscopic/wedge bi
opsy procedures or during routine necropsies were microwave irradiated for
30 to 60 sec to a solution temperature 58-60 degrees C, in either phosphate
buffered saline (PBS), a 50/50 mix of PBS and ethanol, or Klotz solution.
A duplicate set of tissues from each animal was collected in 10% neutral bu
ffered formalin (NBF) as a control. Ail tissues were routinely processed, p
araffin embedded, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Histologic compar
isons were made between canine and feline tissues stabilized by microwave i
rradiation and tissues from the same animals routinely fixed in 10% NBF for
24 hr. Canine and feline tissues collected in physiologic buffered saline
or Klotz solution and immediately irradiated demonstrated minimal artifactu
al changes in histologic appearance. Thus, microwave irradiation, with PBS
or Klotz solution, can be a viable alternative to overnight techniques rout
inely used in most veterinary laboratories and may be used in lieu of forma
lin fixation to provide same day histopathologic diagnoses.