Practical 5

• Describe precautions that should be followed when performing a dissection

  ● Cover any cuts with a waterproof dressing

  ● When using a scalpel, cut away from body onto a hard surface

  ● When using a scalpel, use a sharp blade

  ● When using a scalpel, carry with blade protected / pointing down

  ● Wear disposable gloves and disinfect hands / wash with soap

  ● Disinfect surfaces / equipment

  ● Safe disposal- put gloves / paper towels / organ in a separate bag / bin to dispose

  ● If poisonous chemicals / toxins involved, work in a well ventilated environment
• Suggest an ethical consideration when dissecting animals

  ● Morally wrong to kill animals just for dissection

  ● So use animals for dissection that have already been killed (humanely) for meat
• Describe how you could prepare a temporary mount of a piece of plant tissue for observation with an optical microscope

  1 Add a drop of water to glass slide

  2 Obtain a thin section of specimen and place on slide

  3 Stain (eg. with iodine / potassium iodide to view starch)

  4 Lower coverslip at angle using mounted needle without trapping air bubbles
• What are the rules of scientific drawing?

  ✓ Look similar to specimen / image, draw all parts to same scale / relative size

  ✓ No sketching / shading- only clear, continuous lines

  ✓ Include a magnification scale (eg. x 400)

  ✓ Label with straight, uncrossed lines