1. MAMMALIAN BLOOD SMEARS SLIDE M
Blood and Haemopoiesis
Objectives:
The main objective is for you to familiarise with the normal composition of blood.
That will enable you to easily spot changes due to infection or disease; leading to marked
changes in some cell types.
You should also become familiar with the development and differentiation of blood cells
in haemopoietic tissues. 1
MAMMALIAN BLOOD SMEARS
SLIDE M
Examine the stained mammalian blood smear.
You should be able to identify most of the blood cell types by examining with the
x40 objective. You may however wish to view these using an oil immersion objective
lens (see instructions on the use of these lenses in section 001 Use of microscopes).
If used clean both slide and lens before returning the slides.
Identify and draw cells present in the blood smears:
ERYTHROCYTES, PLATELETS,
NEUTROPHILS, EOSINOPHILS, BASOPHILS (not usually found in dog blood),
LYMPHOCYTES & MONOCYTES.
Base your identification on the following characteristics:
The staining characteristics of the cells.
The presence or absence of a nucleus.
The size and the shape of the cell and its nucleus.
The presence or absence of cytoplasmic granules.

2. AVIAN BLOOD SMEAR SLIDE A
Q 1. Is there any difference in the colour of the cytoplasm of these cells e.g. do they all stain pink or blue?
Q 2. Which cells in this blood smear lack a nucleus?
Q 3. What are the smallest components in this smear?
Q 4. Which cells in this smear contain granules in their cytoplasm?
Q 5. In which cells are the nuclei lobed?
Q 6. Which cells show the most lobed nucleus?
Q 7. Which cell has little cytoplasm with most of the cell space taken up by the nucleus?
Q 8. In which cell is the nucleus most obviously eccentrically placed? 2
AVIAN BLOOD SMEAR SLIDE A
Examination of a stained avian blood smear.You should be able to identify most cell types.
Erythrocytes Avian erythrocytes are elongated cells with an oval nucleus.
Thrombocytes Nucleated cells, smaller than the erythrocytes, function as platelets.
Lymphocytes.
Monocytes.
Heterophils Eosinophilic rod or spindle shaped granules.
Eosinophils Eosinophilic granules round.
Basophils More numerous than in mammals, nucleus often without lobes.

3. HAEMOPOIESIS SLIDE 192 Bone marrow
Q 9. What is the major difference between the mammalian and the avian blood smears?
Q 10. Do any cells in the avian smear lack a nucleus?
Q 11. How does the morphology of erythrocytes and thrombocytes vary in mammalian
and avian blood? 3
HAEMOPOIESIS SLIDE 192 Bone marrow
Concentrate on this slide.
Identify: megakaryocytes. These are very large cells with lobulated nuclei.
SLIDE 22 foetal liver
SLIDE 148 foetal spleen
These sections will be easier to analyse once you are familiar with the tissues in the adult.
For example, compare adult liver (SLIDE 49) with foetal liver (SLIDE 22)
You will observe blood cells at different stages of development and differentiation.
It may be difficult to identify different cells with certainty until they approach later stages of differentiation e.g. accumulation of cytoplasmic granules that also impart specific staining characteristics and the development of lobulated nuclei.
The easiest cells to identify in these sections are the megakaryocytes very large cells with lobulated nuclei.
You should see many granulocytes showing different levels of nuclear lobulation.