Temporary preservation is meant to decrease sensitivity to water.

• A. Decrease sensitivity to water
• B. Increase tissue pliability
• C. Speed dehydration
• D. Preserve color

Answer: (A)

Temporary preservation is used to shield a specimen from water-related changes during handling, transport, or the initial steps before permanent fixation. Water can cause swelling, leaching of solutes, or enzymatic degradation that distorts tissue and artifacts appear. By using a medium that reduces the tissue’s sensitivity to water, these effects are minimized, preserving morphology until permanent preservation can be applied. That makes decreasing sensitivity to water the best description of its purpose. The other options describe outcomes that aren’t the primary aim: increasing pliability comes with later processing, speeding dehydration would worsen preservation, and preserving color is achieved by different steps rather than this temporary measure.