Anatomical fixation and conservation are required to prevent specimens from undergoing autolysis and decomposition. While fixation is the primary arrest of the structures responsible for autolysis and decomposition, conservation preserves the state of fixation. Although commonly used, formaldehyde has been classified as carcinogenic to humans. For this reason, an adequate substitute was developed. Ethanol-glycerin fixation and thymol conservation are described and compared with formaldehyde and phenol in this technical report. The setup, tissue qualities, financial aspects, and health concerns of this method are discussed. Ethanol-glycerin fixation and thymol conservation provide outstanding haptic and optic tissue qualities. Typical formaldehyde and phenol effects, such as skin, airway, and eye irritation, as well as carcinogenic effects, can be circumvented by using ethanol-glycerin and thymol instead. Ethanol-glycerin fixation is more expensive than formaldehyde and requires an explosion-proof facility. However, the absence of health effects and its convincing tissue qualities balance these higher costs. Therefore, ethanol-glycerin fixation and thymol conservation provide a potential alternative and complement established fixation techniques. The use of carcinogenic formaldehyde and toxic phenol can be effectively restricted through the use of the described method.

Thiel-fixed specimens have outstandingly lifelike visual and haptic properties. However, the original Thiel method is expensive and requires an elaborate setup. It is therefore of principal interest to modify the Thiel method in order to make it available to a broader user group. A modified Thiel embalming method will be described in detail and compared to ethanol-glycerin fixation with the help of illustrative examples. The visual properties, haptic properties, the usability for performing histological investigations, costs and potential health aspects will be considered. Tissues fixed with the modified Thiel technique gave results similar to the original method, providing more realistic visual and haptic properties than ethanol-glycerin embalming. However, Thiel fixation is significantly more expensive and requires more precautions to minimize potential health hazards than ethanol-glycerin-fixed tissues. In contrast to ethanol-glycerin-fixed specimens, the Thiel-fixed specimens are not suitable for histological investigations. Both modes of fixation are inappropriate for biomechanical testing. Modified Thiel embalming simplifies the availability of body donors with lifelike properties and has cost-saving advantages to the original technique. Thiel-embalmed body donors are ideally suited for clinical workshops but have restrictions for student dissection courses in facilities with limited storage space, air circulation or technical staff. Vice versa, ethanol-glycerin-fixed body donors are well suited for student dissection courses in such an environment but are limited in their use for clinical workshops. Modified Thiel embalming therefore ideally complements ethanol-glycerin fixation in order to provide customized solutions for clinical workshops and student dissection courses in a wide range of applications.

The right VN CSA is significantly larger than the left. These side- and age-specific reference values for the VN may be useful for future studies. Muscle Nerve 57: 766-771, 2018.

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