Practical NO.1. Observation of wet mounts of human cheek cells ( bright and dark field microscopy

Material required Sterile cotton swab Clean, sterile microscope slides Microscope cover slips Methylene Blue solution (0.5% to 1%) Dropper Blotting paper/Tissue paper Microscope dark field and bright field protocol. Cheek cells can be easily obtained by gently scraping the inside of the mouth using a clean, sterile cotton swab. place a drop of physiological saline on a clean microscopic slide (central part of the slide) smear the cotton swab on to the centre (part containing the saline drop) of the clean slide for about 4 seconds to get the cells on to the centre of the slide add a drop of methylene blue solution on to the smear and gently place a cover slip on top (to cover the stain and the cells) Any excess solution can be removed by touching one side of the slide with a paper towel or blotting paper. Place the slide on the microscope for observation using 4 x or 10 x objective to find the cells Once the cells have been found, they can then be viewed at higher magnification