AbstractNumbers of mitotic figures present in parasagittal sections of lens capsules of day‐20 fetal rat eyes and comparison of relative lens volume provided a quantitative basis for comparing tissues fixed in neutral buffered formalin and Bouin's and Lillie's fluids. The number of mitotic figures at 1 or 6 h postmortem was significantly higher in Bouin's and Lillie's‐fixed material than in that fixed in formalin. The estimated volume of the tissue fixed in Bouin's was significantly greater than that of lenses in the other 2 fixatives. In addition the overall appearance of the sectioned lens was examined in an effort to evaluate possible artifacts, especially those that might be interpreted as cataracts. Excessive shrinkage and fragmentation of formalin‐fixed lenses was obs