Cell structure and organisation
Cell Structure
When a very thin slice of a plant stem is looked at under a microscope, it looks like it’s made up of many small box-like parts — these are cells.
The slice in the picture is magnified 60 times. So if a cell looks 2 mm long in the image, in real life it’s only 0.03 mm long.
Such thin slices are called sections.
Types of Sections
Longitudinal Section – Cut along the length of the stem (you see the inside part stretched out).
Transverse Section – Cut across the stem (you see a circular shape of the stem).
Cutting Sections
Plant sections are easy to cut using a razor blade.
Animal sections are harder to cut because animal tissues are soft and flexible.
They are first soaked in melted wax to make them firm.
Once solid, thin sections can be cut, and then the wax is removed.
Viewing Animal Cells
Animal cells (like in kidney tissue) are smaller than plant cells, so they need more magnification (around 700×).
Before looking under the microscope, the sections are treated with stains (dyes) to make the cell parts clearer.