Parts of a microscope with functions and labeled diagram

Having been constructed in the 16th Century, microscopes have revolutionized science with their ability to magnify small
objects such as microbial cells, producing images with definitive structures that are identifiable and characterizable.
Derived from Greek words “mikrós” meaning “small” and “skópéō” meaning “look at”.

What are 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.

There are different types of microscopes like light microscope, dark-field microscope, phase contrast microscope, electron
microscope, fluorescent microscope, etc.

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.