What am I seeing?

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bcjolly
Posts: 31
Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2019 2:50 am

What am I seeing?

#1 Post by bcjolly » Mon Nov 18, 2019 10:24 pm

I purchased a set of bacterial slides from Amscope, 10 slides in all. Anthrax, tetanus, botulism, tuberculosis, etc. In viewing these slides through the microscope I am seeing numerous small objects and some larger crystalline looking objects. I am assuming the small objects are the bacteria, but what about the long, crystalline objects? Does the mounting medium turn into a crystalline structure over time? Or is the crystalline material a different form of the bacteria. These crystal structured images are in almost all of the slides, however they are in different shapes from slide to slide.

Barry

MicroBob
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Joined: Sun Dec 25, 2016 9:11 am
Location: Northern Germany

Re: What am I seeing?

#2 Post by MicroBob » Tue Nov 19, 2019 4:30 am

Hi Barry,
it is possible that the mountant crystallizes, but it can also result from the preparation and staining process. Can you show a picture?
Many crystals are birefringent and look nice in crossed polarizators.

Bob

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