Epoxy resins do not require the use of a transitional fluid.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. They always require one
• D. They never require one

Answer: (B)

Epoxy resins do require a transitional fluid to bridge the dehydration solvent and the resin. After tissue dehydration in alcohol, a transitional solvent such as propylene oxide is used to replace the alcohol with something miscible with the epoxy resin, enabling thorough infiltration. Skipping this step often results in poor resin penetration, incomplete embedding, and damaged or poorly preserved tissue blocks. So the statement is false: a transitional fluid is needed for epoxy resin embedding.