Whole Mount of Paramecium What Is It?

A whole mount of Paramecium is a microscopy preparation in which an entire, intact Paramecium organism is mounted on a glass slide without sectioning and examined under a microscope.

• Paramecium is a unicellular, slipper-shaped protozoan found in freshwater
• The organism is fixed (Bouin's fluid or formalin), stained (haematoxylin, silver nitrate, or methylene blue), and mounted (glycerine or Canada balsam)

Structures visible in a whole mount:

• Cilia (covering the entire body)
• Oral groove and cytostome (mouth)
• Macronucleus and micronucleus
• Contractile vacuoles (anterior and posterior)
• Food vacuoles

A whole mount shows the complete organism in 2D; a section mount shows a cross-sectional slice for internal detai