A slicing machine for cutting slices from lengths of food is provided. The slicing machine includes a machine housing, which retains a drive motor and a rotating blade driven by the drive motor. The machine housing includes a deposition region which is arranged in the region of the blade and has a deposition plate for holding slices that have been cut off. The deposition plate has a rotary shaft and can be rotated from a horizontal position into a vertical position. The deposition plate is rigidly connected to the machine housing or to an attachment part of the machine housing when in the horizontal position, and the deposition plate is removable from the machine housing or from the attachment part of the machine housing when in the vertical position.

The present invention relates to a microtome (10) for cutting thin sections, including a sample holder (12), a cutting unit (16), and a drive unit (16) for producing a feed movement between the sample holder (12) and the cutting unit (16) for setting the thickness of the sample sections. The drive unit (22) includes a piezoelectric linear actuator (50) for producing the feed movement.