Prescott's Microbiology 8th Edition by Joanne Willey, Linda Sherwood, Christopher J. Woolverton, Lansing Prescott, John Harley, Donald Klein

Exercise 1

Describe the two general types of fixation. Which would you use when Gram staining a bacterium? Which would you use before observing the organelles of a protist?

Step 1 of 3

Fixation is a process that keeps the structure of a specimen in place. It prevents degradation of structures by inactivating proteases and nucleases that can destroy proteins and nucleic acids. It also strengthens the structure of the cell. Fixation freezes the specimen in place so that you can observe it easily.