A false negative for urate crystals may occur if the tissue was fixed in which medium?

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Multiple Choice

A false negative for urate crystals may occur if the tissue was fixed in which medium?

Explanation:
Urate crystals are very sensitive to solvents and their solubility is strongly affected by the fixation medium. Water-containing fixatives can cause urate crystals to dissolve or be washed away during fixation and processing, leading to a false negative (no crystals seen). Absolute alcohol is a non‑aqueous fixative, but during dehydration and embedding, the strong solvent environment can still remove or fail to preserve these crystals in the section, increasing the chance of not seeing them. So fixation in absolute alcohol carries a real risk of yielding a false negative for urate crystals, more so than the aqueous fixatives listed.

Urate crystals are very sensitive to solvents and their solubility is strongly affected by the fixation medium. Water-containing fixatives can cause urate crystals to dissolve or be washed away during fixation and processing, leading to a false negative (no crystals seen). Absolute alcohol is a non‑aqueous fixative, but during dehydration and embedding, the strong solvent environment can still remove or fail to preserve these crystals in the section, increasing the chance of not seeing them. So fixation in absolute alcohol carries a real risk of yielding a false negative for urate crystals, more so than the aqueous fixatives listed.

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