Carnoy solution preserves fat well.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. It preserves fat better than formalin
• D. It dissolves fat completely

Answer: (B)

Fats are not preserved by Carnoy's solution. This fixative is a mixture of absolute alcohol, chloroform, and acetic acid, and the chloroform acts as a lipid solvent. Because of this, lipids are dissolved/extracted from the tissue during fixation and processing, not preserved. Carnoy's fixes tissue quickly and preserves nuclear detail well, but it removes fats. For fat preservation, use osmium tetroxide or freeze-substitution methods.