AbstractIn the first and second articles of this series, the pathophysiology and etiology of cumulative trauma disorders were discussed. These disorders can be prevented by the elimination or minimization of chronic repetitive motion. With the advent of motorized microtomes, elimination of the repetitive motion of microtomy became possible. If motorized microtomy is to be accepted by the histotechnology community, however, it must function as well as, or superiorly, to the conventional microtome. We have systematically assessed the quality of slides prepared with motorized microtomes and compared them to those prepared in rotary microtomes. We also addressed the effects of accurate tissue section thickness on the results of quantitative DNA and immunohistochemistry studies on estrogen receptor assay. (The J Histotechnol19:55, 1996)