Red blood cells under the microscope, hypo and hypertonic solutions

Описание: Red blood cells (RBCs) as seen under the microscope in isotonic, hypotonic and hypertonic solutions. A few white blood cells can also be seen with the red blood cells. RBCs contain hemoglobin, a red pigment that binds to oxygen and allows oxygen to travel around the body.

When RBCs are placed in a hypertonic salt solution, water moves from inside the cell to the outside by osmosis. This causes the cells to shrink. When RBCs are placed in distilled water, a hypotonic solution, water moves from outside of the cell to the inside, causing the cell to swell and rupture. Once the RBC ruptures, it loses its hemoglobin and becomes transparent and nearly invisible. These ruptured cells are called RBC ghosts and are very difficult to see in the video.

I use two microscopes recorded through a Nikon D3300 DSLR camera.

Wards trinocular Microscope (not sure the model) - 40X, 100X, 400X, 1000X
American Optical One - Ten microscope - 150X, 600X, 1500X

The magnification of each shot is shown on the bottom right hand corner.