Marking excision margins of surgical specimens by silver impregnation has several advantages over commonly used Indian ink: during the slicing the tissue preserves its natural color, the staining is permanent, and the pigment does not smudge over cutting surfaces. The pigment is clearly visible in tissue sections. The tissue specimen is shortly dipped into a 10% water solution of argent nitrate (AgNO3 with HNO3). After slicing, the tissue specimens are developed in common black & white developer for several seconds and paraffin processed as usual. The method is suitable for formaldehyde fixed as well as fresh tissue specimens.

        Key words: surgical margin – surgical specimen – biopsy