Micros

Saint Mary’s University
School of Health and Natural Sciences

CENTER FOR NATURAL SCIENCES
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
MICROSCOPY
- Cells vary in size. With few exceptions, individual cells cannot be seen with the naked eye, so
scientists use microscopes (micro- = “small”; -scope = “to look at”) to study them.
- A microscope is an instrument that magnifies an object. Most photographs of cells are taken with a
microscope, and these images can also be called micrographs.
Two parameters that are important in microscopy are magnification and resolving power.
1. Magnification is the process of enlarging an object in appearance.

2. Resolving power is the ability of a microscope to distinguish two adjacent structures as separate: the
higher the resolution, the better the clarity and detail of the image.
The optics of a microscope’s lenses change the orientation of the image that the user sees. A specimen that
is right-side up and facing right on the microscope slide will appear upside-down and facing left when viewed
through a microscope, and vice versa. Similarly, if the slide is moved left while looking through the
microscope, it will appear to move right, and if moved down, it will seem to move up. This occurs because
microscopes use two sets of lenses to magnify the image. Because of the manner by which light travels
through the lenses, this system of two lenses produces an inverted image (binocular, or dissecting
microscopes, work in a similar manner, but include an additional magnification system that makes the final
image appear to be upright).
KINDS OF MICROSCOPE USED IN THE STUDY OF BOTANY
1. Light Microscope
Most student microscopes are classified as light microscopes.

Visible light passes and is bent through the lens system to
enable the user to see the specimen. Light microscopes are
advantageous for viewing living organisms, but since individual
cells are generally transparent, their components are not
distinguishable unless they are colored with special stains.
Staining, however, usually kills the cells.
Light microscopes commonly used in the undergraduate college

laboratory magnify up to approximately 400 times.
There are three structural parts of the light microscope
1. Head – This is also known as the body, it carries the optical parts in the upper part of the microscope.
2. Base – It acts as microscopes support. It also carriers the microscopic illuminators.
3. Arms – This is the part connecting the base and to the head and the eyepiece tube to the base of
the microscope. It gives support to the head of the microscope and it also used when carrying the
microscope. Some high-quality microscopes have an articulated arm with more than one joint
allowing more movement of the microscopic head for better viewing.
Optical parts of a microscope and their functions

The optical parts of the microscope are used to view, magnify, and produce an image from a specimen placed
on a slide. These parts include:
1. Eyepiece – also known as the ocular. this is the part used to look through the microscope. It is found
at the top of the microscope. Its standard magnification is 10x with an optional eyepiece having
magnifications from 5X – 30X.
2. Eyepiece tube – it is the eyepiece holder. It carries the eyepiece just above the objective lens. In
some microscopes such as the binoculars, the eyepiece tube is flexible and can be rotated for
maximum visualization, for variance in distance. For monocular microscopes, they are none flexible.
3. Objective lenses – These are the major lenses used for specimen visualization. They have a
magnification power of 40x-100X. There are about 1- 4 objective lenses placed on one microscope,
in that some are rare facing and others face forward. Each lens has its own magnification power.
4. Nose piece – also known as the revolving turret. It holds the objective lenses. It is movable hence it
can revolve the objective lenses depending on the magnification power of the lens.
5. The Adjustment knobs – These are knobs that are used to focus the microscope. There are two
types of adjustment knobs: fine adjustment knobs and the coarse adjustment knobs.
6. Stage – This is the section on which the specimen is placed for viewing. They have stage clips hold
the specimen slides in place. The most common stage is a mechanical stage, which allows the
control of the slides by moving the slides using the mechanical knobs on the stage instead of moving
it manually.
7. Aperture – This is a hole on the microscope stage, through which the transmitted light from the
source reaches the stage.
8. Microscopic illuminator – This is the microscopes light source, located at the base. It is used instead
of a mirror. it captures light from an external source of a low voltage of about 100v.
9. Condenser – These are lenses that are used to collect and focus light from the illuminator into the
specimen. They are found under the stage next to the diaphragm of the microscope. They play a
major role in ensuring clear sharp images are produced with a high magnification of 400X and above.
The higher the magnification of the condenser, the more the image clarity. More sophisticated
microscopes come with an Abbe condenser that has a high magnification of about 1000X.
10. Diaphragm – it is also known as the iris. It is found under the stage of the microscope and its primary
role is to control the amount of light that reaches the specimen. It is an adjustable apparatus, hence
controlling the light intensity and the size of the beam of light that gets to the specimen. For high-
quality microscopes, the diaphragm comes attached with an Abbe condenser and combined they
are able to control the light focus and light intensity that reaches the specimen.
11. Condenser focus knob – this is a knob that moves the condenser up or down thus controlling the
focus of light on the specimen.
12. Abbe Condenser – this is a condenser specially designed on high-quality microscopes, which makes
the condenser to be movable and allows very high magnification of above 400X. The high-quality
microscopes normally have a high numerical aperture than that of the objective lenses.
13. The rack stop – It controls how far the stages should go preventing the objective lens from getting
too close to the specimen slide which may damage the specimen. It is responsible for preventing the
specimen slide from coming too far up and hit the objective lens.
2. Dissecting Microscope
Dissecting microscope (Stereo microscope) These are

also known as stereoscopic microscopes. This is a type of
digital optical microscope designed with a low
magnification power (5x-250x), by use of light reflected
from the surface of the specimen, and not the light reflected
the specimen. It is used to view specimens that are visible
to the naked eye such as insects, crystals, circuit boards
and coins.
A stereo microscope has three key parts:

• Viewing Head/Body that houses the optical components in the upper part of the microscope
• Focus Block that attaches the microscope head to the stand and focuses the microscope
• Stand that supports the microscope and houses any integrated illumination.
3. Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM)
This is a powerful electron microscope that uses a beam of

electrons to focus on a specimen producing a highly magnified
and detailed image of the specimen. The magnification power
is over 2 million times better than that of the light microscope,
producing the image of the specimen which enables
4. Pocket Microscope.
This is a microscope that has a special design that is small

and portable, hence the name ‘pocket’. They are pocket-
size but some are a bit larger. Their size is too small to hold
a mirror to place the image in its rightful position.
5. DIGITAL MICROSCOPE
A digital microscope is a modern microscope that lacks an eyepiece,

an immense difference from the traditional optical microscope. They
have a digital camera which is the detector and the image output
device. The display of the image is done on a computer screen or
monitor,
USB Microscope
USB Microscope. This is a type of digital Microscope

which is connected to a computer through a USB port.
It works on low power. They have installed webcam
with a high-powered macro lens and inbuilt LED light
constructed near the lens.

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Saint Mary’s University

School of Health and Natural Sciences

1. Magnification is the process of enlarging an object in appearance.

KINDS OF MICROSCOPE USED IN THE STUDY OF BOTANY

Most student microscopes are classified as light microscopes.

Light microscopes commonly used in the undergraduate college

Optical parts of a microscope and their functions

Dissecting microscope (Stereo microscope) These are

A stereo microscope has three key parts:

3. Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM)

This is a powerful electron microscope that uses a beam of

This is a microscope that has a special design that is small

A digital microscope is a modern microscope that lacks an eyepiece,

USB Microscope. This is a type of digital Microscope

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