A basic guide for sampling and preparation of extant and fossil bones for histological studies

CERDA, IGNACIO A.; PEREYRA, MARIA EUGENIA; GARRONE, MARIANA C.; PONCE, DENISE; NAVARRO, TAMARA G. ; GONZALES, ROMINA ; MILITELLO, MARIANO; LUNA, CARLOS A.; JANELLO, JUAN M.

Publicación Electrónica de la Asociación Paleontológica Argentina

Asociación Paleontológica Argetina

Año: 2020 vol. 20 p. 15 - 28

2469-0228

The study of bone microstructure of fossil vertebrates (i.e., paleohistology) has demonstrated to be a very important source of paleobiologicalinformation. Paleohistological studies are based on the standardized analysis of petrographic thin sections. Although the developmentof new technologies (e.g., microtomography) have provided non-destructive procedures for the study the fossil tissues, thin sectionsare still the main source of information in paleohistology. In this contribution, we provide a detailed protocol for sampling and thin-sectioningpreparation of bone tissue from both fossil and extant vertebrates. We describe the most common procedures for sampling and also someparticularities related to variations in equipment and sampling techniques. The main goal of this contribution is to offer an alternative protocolfor research teams of recent formation and/or with limited funding.