Section Cutting and Staining

Colman, Walter S., 1864-1934Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.9

Word count: 158K words
Chapters: 16

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Section Cutting and Staining by Walter S. ColmanAuthor: Colman, Walter S., 1864-1934,Language: English, Class: QH: Science: Natural history, Release Date: Feb 10, 2016

Editor's review

This book is Walter S. Colman's practical technical manual on tissue sectioning and staining, a classic early document of histological laboratory methods. It covers specimen handling, section preparation, and staining procedures in direct, operational language that reflects the concrete laboratory practices of its time. For today's readers its value lies chiefly in the history of technique and of the discipline: it helps explain how histological methods took shape and serves as a point of comparison with modern protocols. As a free Project Gutenberg e-book, it is easy to search and cite. Read it with a historical eye and note the era-specific differences in reagents, equipment, and safety assumptions; its procedures should not be followed directly.

Who it's for

A good fit for

University students and laboratory staff learning histology and pathology techniques
Readers interested in the history of experimental technique and of science
Researchers who need early methodological literature for comparative study
Hobbyists in biological specimen preparation who want to learn traditional methods

Not a good fit for

Beginners who want to replicate the book's steps directly in modern experiments
Readers with no interest at all in laboratory work or biological content
General readers who struggle with English and lack a professional background

Reading tips

First learn the basic modern workflow for tissue sectioning and staining, then compare it with this book
Read in blocks—specimen handling, sectioning, staining—and build a step-by-step comparison table
Mark the reagents and equipment mentioned and trace how the techniques evolved afterward
Use it only as a reference for method history, not as a protocol; check modern standards for any reagent safety

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Can I still do experiments by following this book today?

Direct replication is not advised. The methods date from early laboratory conditions, and the reagents, equipment, and safety standards differ from today's. It can serve as a historical source and process reference; actual experiments should follow current textbooks and laboratory safety regulations.

What background do I need to read this book?

Basic biology or histology knowledge makes it smoother—at least a grasp of cells, tissues, and microscopic observation. If you are only interested in the history of technique, you can skip the details and focus on the methodological ideas and period context.

Is it better for learning technique or for understanding history?

For contemporary readers its historical and methodological value stands out. The steps can serve as clues to how early histological techniques evolved; for learning hands-on work, pair it with modern textbooks and treat it as a comparison and supplement.

Comments

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About the author

Colman, Walter S., 1864-1934 Author · 1864–1934

Walter S. Colman (1864–1934) is an author whose background, including his life details and nationality, is only sparsely recorded in publicly available sources. At present, only one work by him is held in the collection, Section Cutting and Staining. Judging from the title, the book belongs to the literature on laboratory techniques in histology or pathology, covering methods of section preparation and staining for readers who need to master the preparation of microscopic specimens in medicine and biology. Handbooks of this practical kind are usually characterized by clear procedures and strong operability, with attention to reagent proportions, the order of steps, and the handling of common problems, and thus they offer reference value in laboratory teaching and routine practice. Because further biographical material is lacking, details of his life, professional identity, and academic career cannot be confirmed and are not speculated upon here; recognition of his contribution rests mainly on the foundational role this work has played in its technical field.