Biological Microscopes

Microscopes are instruments that are used in science laboratories to visualize very minute
objects, such as cells and microorganisms, giving a contrasting image that is magnified.
Microscopes are made up of lenses for magnification, each with its own magnification powers.
Depending on the type of lens, it will magnify the specimen according to its focal strength.
Their ability to function is because they have been constructed with special components that enable
them to achieve high magnification levels. They can view very small specimens and distinguish their structural
differences, for example, the view of animal and plant cells viewing microscopic bacterial cells.
Microscopes are generally made up of structural parts for holding and supporting the microscope and
its components and the optical parts that are used for magnification and viewing of the specimen images.
Modern microscopes have additional electronics and display devices. This description defines the parts of a
microscope and the functions they perform to enable the visualization of specimens.
Structural parts of a microscope and their functions
There are three structural parts of the microscope i.e. head, arm, and base.
1. Head – The head is a cylindrical metallic tube that holds the eyepiece lens at one end and connects to
the nose piece at other end. It is also called a body tube or eyepiece tube. It connects the eyepiece
lens to the objective lens. The light coming from objectives will bend inside this tube. In binocular
microscopes, they are adjustable so that the viewer can adjust the eyepiece for maximum visualization.
2. Arm – This is the part connecting the base to the head and the eyepiece tube to the base of the
microscope. It supports the head of the microscope and is 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.
3. Base – The base is the lowermost part of the microscope that supports the entire microscope structure.
It provides stability for the microscope. Illuminators, light switches, and electrical wiring systems are
fitted in the base.
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 – The eyepiece (ocular Lens) is closest to the viewer’s eye. They are located at the top of
the microscope. This part is used to look at the specimen. These lenses come in different magnification
powers from 5X to 30X, but the most common ocular lenses are of 10X or 15X magnification. They
magnify the image for the second time.
2. Eyepiece tube – It’s 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. Diopter Adjustment – Diopter Adjustment is a control knob present only in the binocular microscope
that is used to change focus on one eyepiece. It is used to correct any difference in vision and
compensate for the differences in vision between the viewer’s two eyes.
4. Nose piece – A nose piece is a movable circular structure that houses all the objective lenses. It is
also called the revolving turret. It is connected to the body tube and lies just above the stage. It can be
rotated clockwise or counterclockwise to increase or decrease the magnification. The change in
magnification results due to a change in the objective lens.
5. Objective lenses – The objective lens is the lens that is closest to the specimen. They are fitted on the
nosepiece. A standard microscope has 3 to 4 objective lenses of different magnifying powers: 4X, 10X,
 40X, and 100X. The objective lenses first receive the light transmitted from the specimen and magnify
the image for the first time. Objective lenses are color-coded and are of different sizes. Size and color
depend on the power of the lens. The smallest lens is of the lowest power, and gradually, the longest
will be of the highest power. The high power lenses i.e. 40X and 100X, are retractable, i.e., their end
can be pushed inward. In most optical microscopes, objective lenses with 100X or more magnification
are of oil immersion type.
6. The Adjustment knobs – Adjustment Knobs are the control knobs used to focus the microscope on
the specimen. These knobs are of two types;
a. Fine Adjustment Knob: Fine Adjustment Knob is used for fine adjustment. It is a smaller knob and
is used to move the stage up or down very slowly. The stage covers a very small distance on each
rotation of the fine adjustment knob. It is used to sharpen the image. It is mostly used while viewing
under high power.
b. Coarse Adjustment Knob: Coarse Adjustment Knob is used for focusing the image under low
power magnification. It is a larger knob and is used to move the stage up or down very rapidly. The
stage is raised or lowered rapidly with the help of a coarse adjustment knob.
7. Stage – This is the section in which the specimen is placed for viewing. They have stage clips that hold
the specimen slides in place. The most common stage is the mechanical stage, which allows the
control of the slides by moving the slides using the mechanical knobs on the stage instead of moving
them manually.
8. Stage Control Knobs – Stage Control Knobs are the control knobs used to move the stage
mechanically. There are two knobs; one for moving left and right and the other for moving forward and
backward. This will move the slide in the field of vision.
9. Aperture – This is a hole in the microscope stage through which the transmitted light from the source
reaches the stage.
10. Microscopic illuminator – A microscopic illuminator is a light source. In some compound
microscopes, a mirror, which reflects the light from an external source to the sample, is used. In other
optical microscopes, different electric bulbs of low voltages are used as a constant light source.
Commonly used illuminators are tungsten-halogen lamps, 75-150W Xenon lamps, tin-halide lamps,
mercury vapor lamps, etc. The selection of types of bulbs is based on the requirement of intensity and
wavelength for illumination.
11. 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 clearer the image. More sophisticated microscopes
come with an Abbe condenser that has a high magnification of about 1000X.
12. Diaphragm – It’s 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’s 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.
13. Condenser focus knob – This is a knob that moves the condenser up or down, thus controlling the
focus of light on the specimen.
14. Abbe Condenser – This condenser specially designed for high-quality microscopes makes the
condenser movable and allows very high magnification above 400X. High-quality microscopes normally
have a higher numerical aperture than objective lenses.
15. 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 hitting the objective lens.
16. Light Switch – Light Switch is an electrical control device. Light switches are used to on and off the
illuminator.
17. Brightness Adjustment – The brightness adjustment system controls the voltage supplied to the light
bulb, controlling the intensity (brightness) of the light bulb.