Mussels under the microscope

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Dr. Van Dover and her students use standard histological techniques to look for traces of disease in the tissues of deep-sea mussels ("histology" is the study of tissue sectioned in slices thin enough to be viewed under a microscope). This slideshow shows how Dr. Van Dover's students prepare mussels for study under the microscope.

Here, Kristie Erickson displays a jar containing preserved mussels collected in the spring of 2005 from the south pacific ocean. The mussels were removed from their shells, placed in formalin to fix their tissue and then stored in 70% ethanol.