ABSTRACT
In the past several techniques have been devised to fix human lungs without causing gross distortions of the delicate structural framework. This chapter presents some useful and feasible methods, and discusses their advantages, disadvantages, and limitations. To preserve the architecture of the lung as much as possible, and to allow comparison with other experiments, the lungs have to be fixed in a controlled state of inflation. The choice of the fixation procedure depends on the purpose of the examination and on the particular condition prevailing at the patient's death. Simple air drying does not fix the air-inflated lung, but reversibly stiffens the fibrous skeleton, especially the elastic fibers. Lungs excised at autopsy can be fixed in a fairly well controlled state of expansion by formaldehyde vapors. Instillation of a suitable fixative into the airways of a collapsed lung is the basic procedure for lung fixation.
