A tissue microarray (100) includes frozen tissue cores (108) that extend from the top of the tissue microarray to a release (106). The release (106) is a material from which embedding material (102) of the tissue microarray can easily be removed. A stiffener (104) is used with the release (106) to maintain a flat shape of the release (106). The tissue cores (108) may be formed from whole (i.e., paraffin-free) frozen tissue. A method and tool for manufacturing the tissue microarray are also disclosed.
