Colorectal adenocarcinoma patients, consecutively submitted to surgical treatment performed by colorectal surgeons with more than 10 years of professional experience at Hospital Moinhos de Vento (Porto Alegre, Brazil), will have their surgical specimens subjected to conventional anatomopathological examination for the analysis of the lymph nodes (visual and palpation) performed by a highly qualified pathology technician in lymph node clearing technique. The lymph nodes identified in this preliminary examination will be counted and submitted to pathologic examination with hematoxylin and eosin staining for lymph node metastasis by a pathologist with over 10 years of experience. Upon completing this procedure with the patients with colon cancer, those with rectal cancer will be randomized and have their surgical specimens submitted to the lymph node clearing technique with Carnoy's or GEWF solutions, according to the groups below.