Question

A good heat-fixes smear should be able to do what 2 things?

A) Fix the bacterial cells to the slide
B) Preserve the cellular morphology for microscopic examination
C) Enhance bacterial growth on the slide
D) Stain the bacterial cells for better visibility

Answer 1

A good heat-fixed smear should fix the bacterial cells to the slide and preserve the cellular morphology for microscopic examination.

Step-by-step explanation:

A good heat-fixed smear should be able to do two things:

1. Fix the bacterial cells to the slide: Heat fixing involves passing the slide briefly through a flame, which permanently attaches the cells to the glass surface.
2. Preserve the cellular morphology for microscopic examination: Heat fixing kills microorganisms and stops their movement while preserving the structure of their cellular components for observation under a microscope.

Heat fixing is an efficient method to prepare bacterial smears for staining and microscopic examination.