An inexpensive alternative equipment for the plant material embedding in the paraffin under the vacuum

摘要

The present work describes an equipment constructed using inexpensive material for embedding the plant material in the paraffin under the vacuum, using an oven and a vacuum pump. The equipment was tested using the samples of Rodriguezia venusta (Orchidaceae) buds embedded in paraffin, where half of the samples were submitted to the vacuum by the equipment during the embedding. The material was sectioned with a rotary microtome, obtaining full series of quality sections. The control was hard to section with the microtome, obtaining damaged sections due the air bubbles, making the ribbon formation difficult. These results proved the effectiveness of the equipment, making it a practical, inexpensive and more portable solution for newly established laboratories.