Giardia Lamblia - Microscopy

Microscopy

Under a normal compound light microscope, Giardia often looks like a "clown face," with two nuclei outlined by adhesive discs above dark median bodies that form the "mouth." Cysts are oval, have four nuclei, and have clearly visible axostyles. In spite of the common belief that all eukaryotes have mitochondria, Giardia is one of the few to lack these organelles.