Here's a low-power micrograph of Punky's brain case (Use his eyes to get your bearings). Although he had the head and medulla of a spotted salamander (Ambystoma punctatum) most of the contents of his cranium belong to a tadpole(Rana pipiens). The cablework of nerve fibers linking his frog brain to his salamander medulla (the readout) can be seen in the next picture.
I used a special procedure (Bodian's protargol stain ) with this microscopic section to bring out delicate nerve fibers in the connecting piece linking Punky's frog brain to his salamander readout. Routine microscopic stains (which I used on alternate sections to check the general health of Punky's tissues) don't reveal fine nerve fibers.
Here's a high-power micrograph to show cells in the frog part of Punky. Compare their appearance with the salamander cells in the next picture. Some of the smudge-like bodies here are pigments that signal the first stages of tissue rejection. It looked, from Punky's slides, as though he wouldn't have made it through the weekend.
Here's a high-power micrograph showing cells in Punky's salamander medulla. Notice how distinctly different they are from those in the previous picture. [If you're a microscopist, compare the two sets of cells on the basis of: a) nuclear sizes; b) chromatin pattern and density; c) nucleoli.] Both micrographs were taken at identical magnification and with the same lighting conditions.