16 Lab 6: Using Microscopes to Examine Neuron Smears & Lab Visit
Erin Mazerolle and Sherry Neville-MacLean
Learning Objectives
During this lab, you will
- Become more familiar with imaging techniques through a visit to an EEG and fNIRS lab on campus
- Review cellular anatomy by investigating the components of a multipolar neuron smear through the use of a compound (or light) microscope
- Critique a patient simulation scenario for clarity and completeness
While small groups are off to visit the EEG and fNIRS lab, the remaining students will perform two tasks. One of those two tasks will involve using a microscope to examine a neuron smear. A neuron smear is a slide in which a neuron has be “smeared”. The other task will involve critiquing a patient simulation. These patient simulations are scenarios written as scripts to be read by actors, where one actor is the patient, and the other is a healthcare provider trying to consider the patient’s symptoms for diagnosis.
Procedure for Neuron Smear Investigation
- Begin by using the alcohol and KimWipes at your station to clean the ocular lenses of the microscope. Place a bit of alcohol on a wipe, and work in increasingly smaller circles for each lens.
- Watch this short video to be sure you know how to focus the microscope. Although the presenter talks about the use of the 100X objective lens, it requires oil, and we will not be using this magnification. There is also a quick mention of adjusting the light level; given that we are working with a different brand of microscope, adjusting the level of light will be accomplished in a slightly different way. Your lab instructor can demonstrate if you need to adjust.
- Have a look through the lens to view the neuron using the 4X, 10X, and 40X levels of magnification objective lenses to determine which parts you can and cannot identify. (Note: the eyepiece also magnifies samples at 10X, so the resulting magnifications you will view at 40X, 100X, and 400X.)
- Have one group member record a short video with their phone while bringing the neuron into focus through one of the lenses. Use this video to capture an image in which the neuron appears clear. Post that photo and the markup you do as your answer to question #2.
- Answer the other Moodle questions related to your investigation of the neuron smear. You can use the labelled image below for comparison. Its only weakness is that the nodes of Ranvier are not labelled.
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Neuron_typical_structure.jpg – License: CC-BY-SA-4.0
Procedure for Patient Simulation Analysis
- Based on your lab section, you will download and critique a specific patient simulation.
- After reading the scenario, considering what you know from class and the textbook, and/or doing some extra research, analyze the patient simulation based on the questions posed in the Moodle quiz, and upload a version of the document with “Track Changes” included.