Th e history of formalin dates back to the Age of Enlightenment when medieval
alchemy, steeped in magic and astrology, slowly gave birth to chemistry, its modern
off spring.Ancient lore was evolved into scientifi c understanding by scientists
like German-Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele who discovered a  number
of elements and compound.Its synthesis was described later in the 18th century
by the French scientists Antoine Francois Fourcroy and Louis Nicolas Vauquelin,
who isolated it in the course of their experimental research on sulfuric acid.It should be remembered that a little of the fl uid must
remain at the bottom of the jar, so the preparations are constantly under the infl uence
of at least a minimal amount of formol vapor.Aft er a further 8-14 days preparations can be removed and stored in
a glass jar with a glass stopper.On the second or third day aft er this, the contaminated fl uid is
changed once.In 1777, he discovered the substance that came to be
known as acetaldehyde [2].