Microscope Flashcards
heavy U- or V-shaped foot on which the microscope stands.
Base
a firm support arising from the base.
Pillar
platform with central aperture and clips to hold the slide being studied.
stage
a stout curved handle used in carrying the instrument.
arm
inner rotary knob attached within the arm. It is for more delicate focusing especially at high
magnification.
Fine adjustment knob
box-like structure attached to the arm and bears the lenses and prism.
Body tube
bears the four objective lenses
Rotating (revolving) nosepiece
metallic structure above the nosepiece that protects the objectives.
Dust shield
outer rotary knob that quickly moves objectives to focus or obtain an image of the object.
Coarse adjustment knob
found on top of the body tube into which ocular (eyepiece) is inserted; can be rotated 360⁰ for ease of
viewing.
Draw tube
found below the stage; serves to gather and direct the light to illuminate the object. The concave mirror will gather more light than the flat (plain) mirror, but the latter provides more satisfactory lighting at high magnifications.
Mirror
a metal plate with circular openings with different diameters that control the amount of light reaching
the object.
Iris diaphragm
found between the mirror and the stage and serves to further concentrate light rays on the
specimen.
Condenser (lens system)
consist of two or more lenses fixed in a rigid mount that serve to form a real image of the
object within the body tube.
Objectives of object lens
smallest and shortest, with lowest magnification but allows viewer to see a greater area.
Scanner
shorter lens with a magnifying power of 10x.
Low power objective (LPO)
the longer lens that magnifies 40x and forms a bigger image of the object.
High power objective (HPO)
the longest objective, with a magnifying power of 100x, used only with immersion oil.
Oil immersion objective (OIO)
These consist of special types of glass, carefully ground and polished, and aligned on an optical axis.
Optical Parts
two larger lenses at the top of the draw tube that serve to further magnify the image. The lens of
the ocular refracts (bends) the light rays passing from the real image to the retina of the eye in such a way as to produce
the effect of a still virtual image (ghost image). The latter is imaginary (it cannot be projected on a surface); it produces on
the eye the same effect as if an object and the size of the virtual image were held at ordinary reading distance.
Ocular or eyepiece
A compound microscope consists of certain precise mechanical parts (chiefly of metal) to support and facilitate the use of
the optical parts (of glass) that provide the magnified image.
STRUCTURE
Is a coordinate system of lenses arranged to produce an enlarged, focusable image of a specimen.
Light microscope
