Things You'll Need
Instructions
Choose a sponge and remove it from the communal dish, using forceps. Handle the sponge carefully, so as not to crush its internal support system. Sponges contain a skeleton that is composed of microscopic needles, called spicules.
Rinse the sponge gently under running water, to remove sea sand and any debris covering the animal and clogging the tiny cells that make up the body wall.
Shake the sponge gently over a sink to remove any loose detritus still adhering to the animal.
Place the sponge carefully onto the dissection pan.
Add water to the dissection pan to float the sponge and to keep its cells from collapsing.
Lift the sponge with your forceps, and using a pair of laboratory scissors, carefully make a vertical incision through the midsection. Use the open pair of scissors to keep the body of the sponge splayed as you cut through the animal.
Use the fine point probe and forceps to tear the center cavity of the sponge, which is hollow. Notice that the pores run through the entire body of this primitive animal.
Use your scalpel to carefully cut a longitudinal section through the sponge. Cut this section as thinly as possible.
Use your scalpel to carefully cut a cross section through the sponge. Cut this section as thinly as possible, so that you will be able to view the cell linings and canals under a dissection microscope.