A Contribution to the Life History of Bucephalus longicornutus (Manter, 1954)
Sporocysts
Sporocysts
Portions of sporocysts were teased out of the visceral mass of infected oysters and mounted in sea-water. 0.5% neutral red and 0.5% methyl green in sea-water were used as vital stains but these were of little value in clarifying details of structure as stain tended to concentrate in the sporocyst wall and embryonic cercariae. Portions of sporocysts were fixed in warm formol-acetic-alcohol (FAA), and stained in acetic-acid-alum-carmine (AAAC), cleared in xylol and mounted in balsam.
Histological details of the sporocyst were obtained by sectioning portions of the gills and visceral mass of infected oysters. The best fixative was found to be Dubosq-Brasil followed by treatment with Lenoir's fluid for picric acid removal (Gray, 1953). Sections were stained with Heidenhain's haemotoxylin with alcoholic eosin, or Weigert's haematoxylin with picro-ponceau S.