Acetone is sometimes used when a rapid acting fixative is needed.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Not enough information
• D. Always

Answer: (A)

Acetone fixes tissue rapidly because it acts as a drying, coagulative fixative. It quickly dehydrates cells and precipitates proteins, which halts cellular activity and stabilizes structures in a short time. This makes acetone useful whenever speed is essential, such as with cytology smears or rapid processing workflows where slower, cross-linking fixatives like formalin would delay results. Being volatile and water-miscible, it penetrates quickly and delivers immediate stabilization, though it can extract lipids and cause some distortion, so it isn’t chosen for every specimen. In scenarios where rapid fixation is needed, acetone is appropriately used, so the statement is true.