Fish Blood Smear Under the Microscope
Fish Blood Smear, Cyprinus carpio
This is a smear of fish blood stained with Giemsa. Like bird and frog blood, fish red blood cells are oval and keep their nucleus, which makes this slide useful for comparing vertebrate blood.
A blood smear preparation of fish blood (labeled Fish Blood Smear). The slide demonstrates nucleated teleost erythrocytes (red blood cells) alongside various leukocytes, highlighting key differences from non-nucleated mammalian red blood cells.
What to look for
- Red blood cells: Oval cells with pink to light purple cytoplasm and a dark purple oval nucleus.
- White blood cells: Rounder cells with larger nuclei and more varied shapes, scattered among the red cells.
- Thrombocytes: Small cells with a nucleus that help with clotting.
At each magnification
Low power (about 4x)
A thin film of cells spread across the slide.
Medium power (about 10x)
Many oval red cells, each with a dark center.
High power (about 40x)
The nucleus inside each red blood cell and the different types of white blood cells.
Questions and answers
Do fish red blood cells have a nucleus?
Yes. Fish red blood cells are oval and have a nucleus, like those of birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Mammals are the main group whose mature red blood cells lose their nucleus.
How is fish blood different from human blood under a microscope?
Fish red blood cells are oval with a dark nucleus in the center. Human red blood cells are round, smaller, and have no nucleus, so they have a pale center instead.
- Category
- Vertebrates
- Scan magnification
- 20x
- Stain
- Giemsa
- Tags
- Fish Blood Smear, Fish blood smear, Fish blood, Cyprinus carpio, Osteichthyes, Teleost
Viewing this slide in class
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