Whole mount preservation involves mounting small, thin specimens whole without sectioning. This preserves the natural shape, color and structure. Methods include Hygrobutol for algae, Dioxan or Creosote for transparency, and glycerin-xylol or Venetian turpentine for dehydration before mounting in balsam or turpentine. Temporary mounts use glycerin or lactophenol, while semi-permanent mounts use glycerine jelly which is filtered gelatin with glycerin and phenol. Whole mounting reveals details not seen in sections and preserves the natural appearance of specimens like algae and fungi.

2. Whole mount
 Objects which are thin, flat and small which
do not require sectioning to reveal their structure
are mounted entire is called Whole mount
 Example : filamentous algae , fungi fern
prothallus,leaf epidermis,small flowers etc…..
Whole mount preservation is adopted for a wide
range of materials like whole plant ,stem ,leaves ,
flowers and fruits.
 This helps to retain the natural colour form
and shape and also prevents decay

3. Importance of whole mount
 Whole mount preserve the specimens without
disturbing their natural habit
 In the case of fern prothallus, reproductive bobies of
algae & fungi etc ….their whole mount preparations
give more lucid & clear structure than those of
their sections

4. Methods of whole mounting
 1 ) The Hygrobutol method
used to prepare permanent whole mount of filamentous
algae like ulothrix , spirogyra etc…
steps :-
a) Kill & fix filamentous algae in chrom-acetic acid fluid
b) Wash the filament in running water .
c) Stain using haematoxylin or carmine.
d) Dehydrate using 15 , 30, 45, 70, 85% alcohol with long
duration in last stage .
e) Counter stain with erythrosine B / orange G / fast
green.
f) Wash & kept in 95% alcohol

5. g) Add gradual changes of hygrobutol till the
mixture contains 90% hygrobutol & 10% alcohol
h) Add 10 times diluted canada balsm with hygrobutol
& allow balsm to evaporate till it becomes ready for
mounting
2) The Dioxan method
 Very expensive method in which pure dioxan is
used .
 only aqueous / very weak alcoholic stains are to be
used.

6. Steps : -
 killing & fixing  staining  washing dehydration
– using different changes of dioxan infiltrate with
balsm diluted with dioxan  allow to evaporate 
mount in balsm on a slide with cover slips .
3) The Creo sote method
 One superior method to Dioxan method.
 Give more transparency to thick materials like styles
,leaf epidermis etc…..
 Usually Beechwood Creosote is used in this method.

7. Steps :-
a) Killing & fixing
b) Staining
c) Washing
d) Pass the material through 50,70,80% ethyl alcohol
for dehytration for 10 minutes in each stage
e) Transfer material to a mixture of creosote & 85%
alcohol.
f) Pass through changes having gradual increase of
creosote until it reaches pure creosote.
g) Mount in balsm ( because the rate of evaporation for
monuting consistency is very slow for creosote)

8. 4) The glycerin- Xylol method
a) Killing
b) Fixing
c) Staining---using stains like haematoxylin
d) Put material in 10% glycerine & allow this to
evaporate for 4 days until glycerine becomes
concentrated.
e) Remove glycerine by changes of 95% alcohol.

9. f) Counter stain with acid stains, if reguired.
g) Dehydrate completely using 100% alcohol.
h) Pass through changes of alcohol, xylol mixture until
reaches pure xylol.(each stage needs 5-10 minutes)
i) Transfer to balsm diluted with xylol.
j) Allow xylol to evaporate & mountng is done in balsm

10. 5. The Vevetian turpentine
method
 The material is stained & dehydrated by the glycerine
evaporation method.
Steps :-
1) remove the glycerine in the material by 95%
alcohol.Give three changes in absolute alcohol.
2)Transfer the material to mixture of 10% venetian
turpentine in absolute alcohol.
3) keep for 5 minutes.

11. 4) Then allow the alcohol to evaporate when the
medium contains only turpentine .
5) And mount the material in a drop of turpentine on a
clean slide.
6) Put a cover slip over the material and keep flat to
harden.
7) Seal the cover glass using a standard adhesive like
DPX or canada balsam.

12. Permanent whole mount
Methods : -
 Filamentous algae like Spirogyra, Oedogonium –
 First killed in any fixing solution.
 Then the excess killing solution is washed off with
water .
 The material stained with a self-mordanting
haematoxylin for about half to 1 hour

13.  The stain is now washed off & the material transferred
to a destaining solution of 0.1% hydrochloric acid in a
cavity block.
 Stir well & then drain out .
 Then wash in tap water & examine with a microscope
 The washing is repeated until the nucleus & pyrenoids
alone retain the colour

14. Temporary & Semi – permanent
Whole mount slides
 A very simple method of preserving small filamentous
algae.
 Placing it in a drop of 10% glycerine & covering with a
cover slip -- purely Temporary method..
 An improved preservative & mounting medium is the
Lactophenol mountant.
 In filamentous algae Spirogyra ,ulothrix etc,….& fungi
like Rhizopus, Aspergillus,phytophtora etc ….. May be
mounted in this medium .

15. Aman’s Lactophenol
phenol ---------20ml
Lactic acid------20ml
Glycerine--------40ml
Water ----------20ml
 To mounting in this medium the material may be
stained in cotton blue or aniline blue ,
 The excess stain may be removed by giving a wash in
the liquid it self .

16. Glycerine jelly
components of glycerine jelly
Gelatin - 5gm
Water - 30ml
Glycerine - 35ml
Phenol dissolved in 10 drops of water --5 gm
 gelatin is dissolved in luke warm water. The other
components are added to it & then filtered hot .it is
kept in a closed bottle.
 Material like filamentous algae & fungi are stained in
Haematoxylin & then dehydrated before mounting in
the glycerine jelly .for dehydration.. the glycerine
evaporation method is suggested.

17.  A small quantity of glycerine jelly is placed on a slide
& melted .
 Then the material to be mounted is removed from the
glycerine & transferred into the warm jelly on the
slide.
 A clean cover slip is now put over the jelly .& pressed
gently to extrude the excess jelly.
 After cooling , the excess jelly around the cover slip is
wiped off

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