Introduction The purpose of this lab was to examine the differences between human and animal hair at a microscopic level and to identify an unknown hair sample. A cuticle scale mount will be used to view the pattern of a human hair cuticle. Clear mount will be used in hair whole mounts to view the inner morphology of the hair samples. The concepts of this exercise were to understand hair morphology and the basic differences between human hair and animal hair to determine unknown hair sample sources. Animal hair cuticles are more geometric while human hair cuticles are non-uniform. The medulla of human hair are normally interrupted or fragmented and are typically less than or equal to one-third of the diameter of the hair. The medulla of animal …show more content…
• Step 2: For the cuticle mount with human hair, apply a thin layer of clear nail polish to a section of the microscope slide.
• Step 3: Acquire a human hair sample from a group member or a given sample and place it across the nail polish. Do not move it once it has touched the nail polish.
• Step 4: When the nail polish has dried, remove the hair sample and view the cuticle impression at 10X and 40X magnification with the microscope. Draw or take a picture of both views.
• Step 5: For the hair whole mounts, acquire a strand of cat hair and place it on its labeled microscope slide.
• Step 6: With nitrile gloves on, use the pipette to apply one drop of clear mount onto the cat hair. (Keep clear mount sealed when not being used)
• Step 7: Place the microscope cover slip over the clear mount and hair sample.
• Step 8: View the cat hair sample with the microscope and draw or take a picture of the sample at 40X magnification.
• Step 9: Repeat steps 5-8 with the dog, human, rat, and unknown hair