Microscopes and Microscopy:
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Microscopes are important tools used for observing cells and tissues of the body. They can help you to observe what things look like on the cellular level, and see how cellular structure affects function. You can also see tissues, which are similar cells that work together to form a common function, and the different structures.
Here are the basic parts of the Brightfield compound light microscope used in most biology and microbiology labs and departments:
Eyepiece: The oculars are the eyepieces. They have a magnification of 10x); Monocular = 1 ocular; Binocular = 2 oculars. They are adjustable to the width of your eyes, and you can turn the dial to fine-tune the sample and are what you look through to view the sample. By adjusting the oculars until you see the sample in one view or one circle, you are increasing resolution, or the point at which two objects can be viewed as distinct and separate.
Arm: This is the back of the microscope that is for support, particularly when carrying it. It is sometimes referred to as the carrier handle.
Rack stop: This is a small screw designed to protect the microscope objectives from hitting the stage. It is a screw that is found in the back near the arm.
Stage clip: This holds the slide in place on the mechanical stage by a spring-loaded mechanism.
Coarse focus: This is the larger knob that you use to bring the specimen into focus, and which moves the stage up and down.
Fine focus: This is the smaller knob on the side of the microscope that is used for sharper images and to “fine tune” the resolution of the sample.
Base: the bottom of the microscope that supports it, and which contains the light source (light bulb, fuse) and is used to support the microscope underneath when carrying it
Illuminator: The illuminator is the light source. There is an on/off switch and a separate dial to control the intensity and brightness of the light.
Condenser: This sits under the mechanical stage and is used to focus the amount of light on the slide. It can be moved up (right under the slide) or down (away from the slide) when looking at samples that are transparent or clear, such as urine or vaginal wet mounts or parasitology samples.
Iris diaphragm: This is the lever/knob (small) attached to the condenser, which can be adjusted to open or close the iris, like the pupil of the eye, to let in more let or to reduce the amount of light on the sample.
Mechanical stage: This is the flat surface that holds the slide. The stage clips hold the slide in place and flat on the surface. It can be moved up and down, as well as side-to-side to scan various areas of the slide (stage controls).
Objective Lenses: There are 3-4 objective lenses on a rotating, locking revolving nosepiece. The lenses are designed to magnify the sample so you can see the detail more clearly.
Cleaning and Storing the Microscope: The microscope should be handled with care. Improper use or failure to clean it can damage it, particularly the lenses. Microscope lenses should be carefully cleaned with lens cleaner and dust-free, lint-free microscope lens tissue paper, because dust, oil, fingerprints, hair, and other things can damage and scratch the lenses. The other parts can be cleaned with dust-free, lint-free KIM wipes designed to clean the non-lens parts of the microscope. The microscope should be stored with the stage lowered, the plug wrapped around the arm either above or below the stage, with the oculars (eyepieces) turned facing away from the stage and the 10x objective in place, and the light switch turned off. You should remove the slide and put it back in the slide tray where it belongs.
Transporting the Microscope: When transporting the microscope, you should place one hand under the base, one hand around the arm, and carry the microscope close to your body (trunk) slowly and carefully. Place it carefully on the work area, plug it in, turn the oculars around to face your eyes, and now it is ready for use.
Stain: Most of the slides we look at in A&P are stained with special stains, such as methylene blue, or Wright-Giemsa or safranin to improve contrast, or the ability of a structure to stand out against a background.
Here are the basic parts of the Brightfield compound light microscope used in most biology and microbiology labs and departments:
Eyepiece: The oculars are the eyepieces. They have a magnification of 10x); Monocular = 1 ocular; Binocular = 2 oculars. They are adjustable to the width of your eyes, and you can turn the dial to fine-tune the sample and are what you look through to view the sample. By adjusting the oculars until you see the sample in one view or one circle, you are increasing resolution, or the point at which two objects can be viewed as distinct and separate.
Arm: This is the back of the microscope that is for support, particularly when carrying it. It is sometimes referred to as the carrier handle.
Rack stop: This is a small screw designed to protect the microscope objectives from hitting the stage. It is a screw that is found in the back near the arm.
Stage clip: This holds the slide in place on the mechanical stage by a spring-loaded mechanism.
Coarse focus: This is the larger knob that you use to bring the specimen into focus, and which moves the stage up and down.
Fine focus: This is the smaller knob on the side of the microscope that is used for sharper images and to “fine tune” the resolution of the sample.
Base: the bottom of the microscope that supports it, and which contains the light source (light bulb, fuse) and is used to support the microscope underneath when carrying it
Illuminator: The illuminator is the light source. There is an on/off switch and a separate dial to control the intensity and brightness of the light.
Condenser: This sits under the mechanical stage and is used to focus the amount of light on the slide. It can be moved up (right under the slide) or down (away from the slide) when looking at samples that are transparent or clear, such as urine or vaginal wet mounts or parasitology samples.
Iris diaphragm: This is the lever/knob (small) attached to the condenser, which can be adjusted to open or close the iris, like the pupil of the eye, to let in more let or to reduce the amount of light on the sample.
Mechanical stage: This is the flat surface that holds the slide. The stage clips hold the slide in place and flat on the surface. It can be moved up and down, as well as side-to-side to scan various areas of the slide (stage controls).
Objective Lenses: There are 3-4 objective lenses on a rotating, locking revolving nosepiece. The lenses are designed to magnify the sample so you can see the detail more clearly.
- 4x is the scanning lens to start with, which should be the one locked into place when you store the microscope.
- 10x is the “high dry” lens, which you move to next.
- 40x is the lens we use the most to observe the detail in A&P
- 100x is the oil immersion lens, which can only be used with special immersion or mineral oil to magnify the sample. Using this lens without oil can damage or scratch the lenses.
- 10x x 4x = 40x total magnification
- 10x x 10x = ______________ total magnification
- 10x x 40x = ______________ total magnification
- 10x x 100x = _____________ total magnification
Cleaning and Storing the Microscope: The microscope should be handled with care. Improper use or failure to clean it can damage it, particularly the lenses. Microscope lenses should be carefully cleaned with lens cleaner and dust-free, lint-free microscope lens tissue paper, because dust, oil, fingerprints, hair, and other things can damage and scratch the lenses. The other parts can be cleaned with dust-free, lint-free KIM wipes designed to clean the non-lens parts of the microscope. The microscope should be stored with the stage lowered, the plug wrapped around the arm either above or below the stage, with the oculars (eyepieces) turned facing away from the stage and the 10x objective in place, and the light switch turned off. You should remove the slide and put it back in the slide tray where it belongs.
Transporting the Microscope: When transporting the microscope, you should place one hand under the base, one hand around the arm, and carry the microscope close to your body (trunk) slowly and carefully. Place it carefully on the work area, plug it in, turn the oculars around to face your eyes, and now it is ready for use.
Stain: Most of the slides we look at in A&P are stained with special stains, such as methylene blue, or Wright-Giemsa or safranin to improve contrast, or the ability of a structure to stand out against a background.
Microscopy: Epithelial Tissue: It Covers and Lines the Body and Organs and Blood Vessels
This medical lab scientist is adjusting the ocular eyepieces to the width of her eyes. The eyepieces themselves are also adjustable. They should be adjusted until one circle if formed, and you can see two objects as two separate individuals. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Scientists_are_working_in_the_lab.11.jpg/1024px-Scientists_are_working_in_the_lab.11.jpg
Always start out with the lowest objective in place (4x) to get the object into focus, then move to the next objective and lock it into place. This image shows a wet mount on a slide on the stage held by stage clips. Notice it is flat on the stage. The stage can now be moved up and down with the coarse focus knob and then fine-tuned for clarity with the fine focus knob. The stage controls are able to move the stage back-and-forth and side-to-side to scan the slide. The light source is on, the illuminator dial is turned up for maximum light, the condenser is directly under the stage, and the iris diaphragm lever is open.
Stereo (dissecting) microscope for looking at larger objects; It magnifies at a total of 50x. The stage doesn't move, however, the light source moves up and down with the coarse knob to zoom in on the sample. There is a light source that can be changed. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Microscope_Altami_PS_II.jpg
Who Uses Microscopes? Doctors, Nurses, Medical Assistants, Medical Lab Scientists, Medical Lab Technicians, Lab Assistants, Opticians, Metallurgists, Some Types of Engineers, Researchers, Scientists, Biologists, Microbiologists, Taxonomists, Mycologists, Parasitologists, Hematologists, Pathologists (Even Bedside During Some Surgeries Like Bone Marrow Taps or Biopsies), Forensics, Ecologists, Photographers, Professors, Teachers, Geologists, Paleontologists, Archaeologists, Jewelers
How Do They Benefit? Diagnosis of disease or pathology, inflammation, discovery, research, blood counts, looking at glass or metal, cracks in metal or screws or parts that hold airplanes together, quality control on microprocessor lines (computer chips), solve crimes, prove guilt and innocence, study fossils and rocks and minerals, differentiate gold from something fake, look closely at the structure of things like bones and blood. Microscopes save lives every day!
Cells:
Cheek/Skin Cell Lab: Cells stained with methylene blue improve contrast, so you can easily see the internal structures of the cell, including the nucleus, cytoplasm, ribosomes, mitochondria, and plasma (cell) membrane. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Human_cheek_cell.jpg/640px-Human_cheek_cell.jpg
Tissue Types:
Muscle: Cardiac, Skeletal, Smooth (Observing Microscopic Structures to Understand How Muscles Work): Nuclei, Mitochondria, Sarcomeres, Z-lines, Actin and Myosin Striations, Long Fibers, Intercalated Disks (Cardiac) and Branching (Cardiac) and Lack of Striations in Smooth
Epithelial Tissue (Simple, Stratified): It Covers and Lines Our Body and Its Organs and the Blood Vessels and Lymphatic Vessels
Nervous: Neurons, Neuroglia: Communication
Connective Tissue: Blood, Cartilage, Bone, Dense Fibrous, Loose Fibrous, Areolar, Reticular, Collagen, Elastin
LIGAMENT; https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/%D0%9F%D0%BB%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%BE%D1%84%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BC%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D1%8D%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D1%82%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%8C_%D1%81%D0%B2%D1%8F%D0%B7%D0%BA%D0%B8%2C_%D1%83%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5_40.jpg/640px-%D0%9F%D0%BB%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%BE%D1%84%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BC%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D1%8D%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D1%82%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%8C_%D1%81%D0%B2%D1%8F%D0%B7%D0%BA%D0%B8%2C_%D1%83%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5_40.jpg