Have you ever tried looking inside a bone? If you have, you must have probably noticed that it has a soft, yellowish substance that looks like lard, and also a soft, red part. The tissue filling the inner spaces of the bone is called the marrow. Now, why are there red and yellow marrows? They have different functions; the red marrow found in the hollow center of the large bones of mammals, reptiles and birds produce new blood cells, like red blood cells, platelets, and some white blood cells. On the other hand, the yellow marrow stores fat.
MATERIALS THAT YOU WILL NEED: A small bit of marrow from raw beef or lamb bone. Toothpick. Slides and cover slips. Tincture of iodine. Microscope
1. Before starting your experiment, make sure that your utensils and hands are clean. Also take note NOT to eat the raw marrow.
2. With the use of your toothpick get a tiny sample of marrow. You only need a small amount of it and it doesnt really have to be any bigger than the white of your fingernail.
3. Smear the sample on the slide using the smear technique. Once again, make sure not to trap any air bubbles.
4. Using the staining technique, stain your slide with a small amount of tincture of iodine.
5. Observe the slide under the low and high power objectives of your microscopes.
As you might have observed, when you looked at the yellow marrow, you would have probably seen large fat cells and red blood cells if you looked at red marrow. Why not push your experiment further and try looking at the marrow of different animals? Compare which animals have more fat in their marrows or also you can find out which animal has more marrow in its bones.
