Welcome to the best histology lab you'll ever take! We hope you all had an excellent/safe summer and are ready to hit the ground running as we start a new semester. For most of you, histology is new territory and may seem a little intimidating at first, but we promise this class isn't difficult as long as you have the right tools, and dedicate a little time every week familiarizing yourself with the world of tissues. This blog will be a powerful tool to you if you use it wisely. We try to load it with as much helpful information as we can, but it is not meant to replace lab lectures.
This lab is organized a lot like the anatomy lab -- there will be a quiz at the beginning of class every week, and then we'll teach you what you'll need to know for the quiz the upcoming week. A lot of people want to know if you'll actually be in there the full three hours every week: It usually takes about an hour for everyone to finish the quiz, and then at least another hour to get through the material for that week. There are a few weeks where there is a lot of material and we probably will need the full three hours, but usually we're done after about two hours.
This lab is organized a lot like the anatomy lab -- there will be a quiz at the beginning of class every week, and then we'll teach you what you'll need to know for the quiz the upcoming week. A lot of people want to know if you'll actually be in there the full three hours every week: It usually takes about an hour for everyone to finish the quiz, and then at least another hour to get through the material for that week. There are a few weeks where there is a lot of material and we probably will need the full three hours, but usually we're done after about two hours.
Some tips for doing well in this class:
1. Use time in lab wisely - maximize the time you spend in lab; the more memorizing and identifying you do during class, the less cramming you'll have to do come quiz time.
1. Use time in lab wisely - maximize the time you spend in lab; the more memorizing and identifying you do during class, the less cramming you'll have to do come quiz time.
2. Don't get discouraged - if you miss a couple points on the first few quizzes, don't despair! Remember, not only will your lowest quiz score be dropped, but the final is worth half of your lab grade. Identify your mistakes early so you don't repeat them on the final.
3. Look for landmarks - it's easy to get lost when looking at cells up close - look for distinct features common to all tissues of the same type - we will try to point out as many of these landmarks as possible in lab to make identification easier.
4. Look at as many different kinds of slides as you can - I can't stress this one enough - just as in anatomy where no two set of forearm muscles looked exactly the same, so no two preparations of even the exact same tissue will look the same. Look at different slides in class, check out the slide databases in the links on the right side of the blog, use Google images and whatever histology slides you can find on the internet to look at as many slides as possible. This will make a very real difference in your success in this class.
This week:
This week in lab we are studying the structures of development. Most of the information you need to know involves remembering which structures are derived from what germ layer/mesodermal structure... however, you will need to be able to identify those structures on your own slides.
 |
| Here's a scanning electron micrograph image of what we've been looking at in lab - can you name at least one derivative from all of the labeled structures? |
The primary germ layer derivatives are something you'll definitely need to know for the quiz next week, and are one of those things that crop up on quizzes every once in a while for the rest of the semester. The acronyms we teach for those are:
Ectoderm: RT LINE (like right line) Mesoderm: MD BRCK (like MD Brick (md like a doctor. So Doctor Brick)) Endoderm: LET PULL
Make sure you also know the stains and what they're used for.
One of the most important skills you will need for this class is the ability to think in three dimensions. Tissues can be cut in any number of ways (remember, longitudinal vs. transverse?), so it is essential to keep this in mind as you orient yourself when looking at a slide.
Some potentially confusing slide things about this week:
The entire embryo can be mounted on a slide, like in the following image:
Most of the slides will contain several different cross-sections of the same chick:
... but some show several equivalent cross-sections from chicks in different stages of development, more like this guy:
No matter the preparation, you should be able to identify the key structures and their derivatives in the 24, 48, and 72 hour chick embryos.
The 24 hour chick kind of looks like nothing, but there will be three layers of tissue and the ectoderm is ALWAYS thicker than the endoderm.
We're excited to help you learn all this stuff this semester. Always feel free to contact your TA's for any questions, concerns, or histology needs you may have this semester. We're here to help.
Stuff from this section that won't be u-finds:
-Morula -Neural crest cells
Stuff from this section you don't need to know for lab:
-Preparation of tissue specimens
-The entire page 4 (cells & organelles, cell-cell junctions)
Some potentially confusing slide things about this week:
The entire embryo can be mounted on a slide, like in the following image:
 |
| If you see something like this when trying to identify the structures discussed in class, grab another slide! |
Most of the slides will contain several different cross-sections of the same chick:
What-ish most of your slides look like. Several slices of the same chick. You'll have to hunt for the right slice to find the structures you're looking for
... but some show several equivalent cross-sections from chicks in different stages of development, more like this guy:
If only your slides were so helpfully labeled
No matter the preparation, you should be able to identify the key structures and their derivatives in the 24, 48, and 72 hour chick embryos.
The 24 hour chick kind of looks like nothing, but there will be three layers of tissue and the ectoderm is ALWAYS thicker than the endoderm.
Your slides look like a purple version of this. Endoderm will always be the thinnest layer
Some things to help you get oriented in chick slides you're looking at:
48 hour chick orientation
72 hour chick orientation
We're excited to help you learn all this stuff this semester. Always feel free to contact your TA's for any questions, concerns, or histology needs you may have this semester. We're here to help.
Stuff from this section that won't be u-finds:
-Morula -Neural crest cells
Stuff from this section you don't need to know for lab:
-Preparation of tissue specimens
-The entire page 4 (cells & organelles, cell-cell junctions)
No comments:
Post a Comment