Table 5 Postfixation procedures reported by the included studies

Adickes 1996 [2]

NR

10% buffered formalin

Phosphate

NR

1 day (if postfixed)^a

Adickes 1997 [1]

Cut into 1–1.5 cm-thick sections

10% buffered formalin

Phosphate

NR

5–6 h

von Keyserlingk 1984 [93]

Brain left in skull for 2 h, then removed and dissected

1% osmium tetroxide

0.1 M sodium cacodylate

NR

2 h

Istomin 1994 [43]

NR

10–12% formalin

Neutral-buffered

NR

NR

Beach 1987 [7]

NR

4% paraformaldehyde

0.1 M phosphate buffer (pH 7.4)

4 °C

NR

Benet 2014 [9]

NR

1:10 dilution of 10% formaldehyde

NR

5 °C

> = 2 days

Benet 2014 [9]

NR

1:10 dilution of 10% custom solution (ethanol 62.4%, glycerol 17%, phenol 10.2%, formaldehyde 2.3%, and water 8.1%)

NR

5 °C

> = 2 days

Böhm 1983 [12]

Cut into 1 cm-thick coronal sections

Paraformaldehyde or formalin

0.1 M phosphate buffer

NR

NR

Coveñas 2003 [20]

NR

4% paraformaldehyde

0.15 M PBS (pH 7.2)

4 °C

30 days

de Oliveira 2012 [23]

NR

20% formalin

NR

NR

3 weeks

Donckaster 1963 [24]

Brain removed

Cajal fixative: formalin and ammonium bromide

NR

NR

4 days

Grinberg 2008 [34]

NR

Same fixative as was used for fixation

NR

NR

NR

Huang 1993 [40]

Dissection of brainstem

NR

NR

NR

<= 24 h

Insausti 1995 [42]

Dissected into slabs approximately 1 cm thick

4% paraformaldehyde

NR

NR

48–72 h

Kalimo 1974 [45] (electron microscopy)

Brain left in the skull for 1 to 2 h after perfusion fixation, then removed, then samples dissected for EM

1.0% paraformaldehyde, 2.0% glutaraldehyde

0.1 M cacodylate (pH 7.4)

NR

Overnight

Kalimo 1974 [45] (histology)

Same as above

10% formaldehyde

NR

NR

10 days

Latini 2015 [53]

Brain extracted from the skull 48 h after perfusion

10% formalin

NR

NR

24 h

Lin 2000 [57]

NR

4% paraformaldehyde

0.1 M phosphate buffer (pH 7.4)

4 °C

Overnight

Lyck 2008 [58]

Brain removed from skull

4% paraformaldehyde

0.15 M Sørensens phosphate buffer (pH 7.4)

4 °C

2 weeks

Masawa 1993 [59]

NR

4% formalin

0.1 M phosphate buffer

NR

> = 3 days

Masawa 1993 [59] (electron microscopy)

From postfixed tissue, tissue blocks were cut and buffer washed

1% osmium tetroxide solution

NR

4 °C

90 min

McGeer 1988 [62]

NR

4% paraformaldehyde

NR

NR

2–3 days or until the pink color of unfixed erythrocytes was gone

McKenzie 1994 [64]

Waited 1 h after perfusion fixation, then the skull was opened, and the brain was removed

Formalin

Neutral-buffered

4 °C

NR

Pakkenberg 1966 [70]

Brain removed from skull

Alcohol 80% 9 parts, formalin 4% 1 part

NR

NR

3 weeks

Sharma 2006 [79]

Brain suspended in a bucket

20% formalin

Neutral-buffered

NR

1–4 days

Shinkai 1976 [81]

Cut into 2 mm-thick tissue blocks

2.5% glutaraldehyde containing 0.2 M sucrose

NR

NR

4–8 h

Sutoo 1994 [85]

Brain halved sagittally and sliced into 10 mm coronal blocks

4% paraformaldehyde

PBS

4 °C

2 days

Suzuki 1979 [86]

Dissected bifurcations of the first temporal branches of the middle cerebral arteries

2.5% glutaraldehyde

NR

NR

4 h

Tanaka 1975 [87] (electron microscopy)

Samples taken from various regions of the brain

1.0% osmium tetroxide

NR

NR

NR

Tanaka 1975 [87] (histology)

Rest of the brain

8.0% formaldehyde

NR

NR

NR

Torack 1990 [90]

Hippocampus and entorhinal cortex was isolated and sectioned into 0.5 cm thick slices

4% paraformaldehyde +/− 1% Bouin’s solution (picric acid, acetic acid, and formaldehyde)

NR

NR

48 h

Turkoglu 2014 [92]

Brain removed from skull

10% formaldehyde

NR

NR

2 weeks

Waldvogel 2006 [96]

NR

15% formalin

0.1 M phosphate buffer (pH 7.4)

NR

6–12 h

Welikovitch 2018 [99]

Dissected out the medial temporal lobe

4% paraformaldehyde and 0.2% picric acid

0.1 M phosphate buffer

NR

Overnight