postfixationadj.n.
/ˌpəʊs(t)fɪkˈseɪʃn/, U.S. /ˌpoʊs(t)fɪkˈseɪʃ(ə)n/ A. adj.
Biology. Occurring, performed, or used after the fixation of tissue.
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the world > life > biology > laboratory analysis > processes > [adjective] > fixation
postfixation1935
postfixed1968
1935 Science 13 Sept. 253/1 The writer..had become decidedly of the opinion that no blame can be placed upon the fixing fluid if disaster results during the post-fixation stages.
1958 J. R. Baker Princ. Biol. Microtechnique i. 30 The fixative..may be unsuitable for indefinite preservation... In such cases a post-fixation preservative may be used.
1966 R. Mahoney Lab. Techniques Zool. v. 285 (heading) Post-fixation preservatives.
2004 Health Insurance Week (Nexis) 23 May 32 Estimation of the chorionic capillary plexus can be generated in the living chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) and confirmed by post-fixation cross section analysis.
B. n.
1. Anatomy. Connection of a nerve to the spinal cord in a relatively caudal (posterior) position. Cf. postfixed adj.2
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the world > life > the body > nervous system > nerve > types of nerves > [noun] > condition of being postfixed
postfixation1953
1953 G. A. G. Mitchell Anat. Autonomic Nerv. Syst. xiv. 202 The sympathetic preganglionic fibres issuing from the cord are found chiefly in all the thoracic and upper two lumbar ventral nerve roots, although occasionally prefixation or postfixation may occur in association with coincident shifts of somatic nerves.
1957 Ann. Royal Coll. Surgeons Eng. 21 367 Table II shows that..there is a much higher incidence of ‘postfixation’.
1987 Brain Res. 407 124 In other cats, with presumed postfixation of the plexus, the TA [sc. tibialis anterior] tendon reflex was abolished for 7-9 days and then returned.
2. Biology. Fixation of tissue that has already been treated with a fixative. Cf. postfix v. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > laboratory analysis > processes > [noun] > fixation
fixation1891
postosmication1933
prefixation1933
postfixation1963
1963 Jrnl. Cell Biol. 17 28/2 For adequate post-fixation in osmium tetroxide of tissues fixed in the aldehydes..the blocks were washed in buffered sucrose solution.
1975 Nature 18 Dec. 613/2 Double fixation for blood cells with glutaraldehyde and osmium, followed by uranyl acetate postfixation, was also used.
1991 A. Peters et al. Fine Struct. Nerv. Syst. (ed. 3) v. 174 The change in shape..is brought about by the osmolarity of the salt solution in which the fixative is dissolved, or the buffer used for subsequent washing of the tissue. The altered shape is then stabilized by the postfixation in osmium tetroxide.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1935