Location: Room 120, Ground Floor, Natural Science Building (Old Wing)

The facility is equipped for making wax and resin sections of biological materials for teaching and research. A variety of microtomes, including sledge, rotary, and freezing, are available for sectioning wax embedded, resin embedded, as well as frozen, material. This facility is augmented by photomicrographic systems, a photographic darkroom, and digital image processing equipment (Scion digital image analysis system).

The laboratory is used by research students and staff in the Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Sciences. Research projects being supported by the Histology Laboratory include a survey of the algal flora of the Pitch Lake, La Brea; the effects of plant growth regulators on abscission, and raceme and pod structure of tropical legumes; and leaf plasticity in timber trees in relation to canopy structure and light quality.

This facility is a depository for microscope slides for undergraduate teaching in Life Sciences, and produces slides for in-house use as well as for schools. A database of teaching slides is available to facilitate lecturers and researchers (intra-net).

Contact: Dr. Greg Barclay, Supervisor