Magnetic resonance microscopy of internal structure of drone and queen honey bees
Author(s)
B Tomanek; A Jasiński; Z Sulek; J Muszyńska; P Kulinowski; S Kwieciński; A Krzyżak; T Skórka; J Kibiński
Abstract
Magnetic resonance (MR) microscopy was used to record MR images of the internal structure of drone and queen honey bees, Apis mellifera carnica, in vivo. A home built MR microscope operating at 270 MHz was used to produce images of honey bees with an in-plane resolution of 30 µm × 30 µm from a slice 440 µm thick. Honey bees were immobilized by placing them inside a glass tube and cooling them down to around 10°C. MR images of sagittal and transverse cross-sections through head, thorax and abdomen of the drone, and a sagittal image through the abdomen of the queen are presented. A number of internal organs of the drone such as: the brain, oesophagus, thoracic ganglion, aorta, testis, spermatic ducts and mucus gland were identified. In the queen image, the ovary, midgut, spermatheca, vagina, sting cavity, rectum and air sacs are clearly visible.