Perfusion-distention fixation of heart specimens: a key step in immortalizing heart specimens for wax infiltration and generating 3D imaging data sets for reconstruction and printed 3D models.

Perfusion-distention fixation by gravity is a fundamental cardiac predissection technique that may be used to preserve the 3D anatomy of a cardiac specimen. The equipment and steps are illustrated, and examples of cardiac specimens preserved in various methods including wet specimens, wax-infiltrated hearts, and 3D-printed models, created after performing this technique, are shown.