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Figure 2 | BMC Biophysics

Figure 2

From: Hierarchical super-structure identified by polarized light microscopy, electron microscopy and nanoindentation: Implications for the limits of biological control over the growth mode of abalone sea shells

Figure 2

Incident light microscopy of differently oriented shell cross-sections. Incident light microscopy. Top, orientation A; bottom, orientation B. Hierarchical structures of nacreous and prismatic shell parts are visualized best in orientation A and B, respectively. Inserts in the images on the left side are shown at higher magnification on the right. Note that in addition to the nacre lamellae there is another level of hierarchy in the range of ~20 μm, defined here as the super-structure, which is observed in orientation A at higher magnification. P, prismatic layer; N, nacre.

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BMC Biophysics

ISSN: 2046-1682

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