<P> For pathological and biological research, the specimen usually undergoes a complex histological preparation that involves fixing it to prevent decay, removing any water contained in it, replacing the water with paraffin, cutting it into very thin sections using a microtome, placing the sections on a microscope slide, staining the tissue using various stains to reveal specific tissue components, clearing the tissue to render it transparent and covering it with a coverslip and mounting medium . </P> <P> Strew mounting describes the production of palynological microscope slides by suspending a concentrated sample in distilled water, placing the samples on a slide, and allowing the water to evaporate . </P> <P> The mounting medium is the solution in which the specimen is embedded, generally under a cover glass . Simple liquids like water or glycerol can be considered mounting media, though the term generally refers to compounds that harden into a permanent mount . Popular mounting media include Permount, and Hoyer's mounting medium and an alternative glycerine jelly Properties of a good mounting medium include having a refractive index close to that of glass (1.518), non-reactivity with the specimen, stability over time without crystallizing, darkening, or changing refractive index, solubility in the medium the specimen was prepared in (either aqueous or non-polar, such as xylene or toluene), and not causing the specimen stain to fade or leach . </P> <P> Popularly used in immunofluorescent cytochemistry where the fluorescence cannot be archived . The temporary storage must be done in a dark moist chamber . Common examples are: </P>

What is the purpose of the wet mount slide