A histology water bath is a laboratory device used primarily in histological, chemical, clinical, and bacteriological labs to prepare tissue samples for microscopic examination. It maintains a constant temperature, typically 40–50°C (5–10°C below the paraffin’s melting point), to float paraffin-embedded tissue sections, allowing them to relax, stretch, and remove wrinkles before mounting onto slides. The warmth also helps the paraffin adhere to the slides.
Tissue flotation baths provide exact temperature regulation, thus ensuring evenly stretched cuttings that are clearly visible in the anodized bath. It is ideal for use in histological, chemical, clinical, and bacteriological laboratories that require stretching and drying of cut tissues. It also has applications for processes that require less distortion and wrinkle free tissue samples, such as tissue culture and enzyme reactions fermentation tissue section processing.