Preparation of Amyl Acetate and Acetone Labile Eggs From Parasitic Nematodes For Scanning Electron Microscopy

Abstract

The structure and composition of parasitic nematode eggs, particularly the shells, are of interest to various investigators. Egg morphology is widely used for species identification where sacrifice of the host is not desirable. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) allows surface sculpture patterns on eggs of closely related species to be observed and aids in identification. The egg shell, in many species of parasitic nematodes, is composed of a proteinchitin-lipid complex which, unfortunately, is labile in many organic solvents including those routinely employed in the preparation of samples for SEM by the critical point drying method.The present study is concerned with the fine surface morphology of eggs from Toxocara canis (Werner, 1782), Toxocara mystax (Zeder, 1800), and Ascaris suum Goeze, 1782, as revealed by SEM after several preparative procedures.