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parts of a microscope

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  • head

    cylindrical metal tube that holds the eyepiece lens at one end and connects to the nosepiece at the other; it connects the eyepiece lens to the objective lens. The light coming from the objectives will bend inside this tube

  • arm

    connects the base to the head and the eyepiece tube to the base of the microscope; it supports the microscope’s head and is also used when carrying it

  • base

    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.

  • eyepiece

    used to look at the specimen; commonly 10x magnification; they magnify the image for the second time

  • eyepiece tube

    carries the eyepiece just above the objective lens

  • diopter adjustment

    control knob present only in the binocular microscope that is used to adjust the focus of one eyepiece; it is used to correct differences in vision and compensate for differences between the viewer’s two eyes

  • nosepiece

    movable circular structure that houses all the objective lenses

  • objective lenses

    he objective lenses first receive light transmitted from the specimen and magnify the image; objective lenses are color-coded and are of different sizes; size and color depend on the lens’s power; the smallest lens is the lowest power, and the longest will be the highest power

  • fine adjustment knob

    used for fine adjustment; it is a smaller knob and is used to move the stage up or down very slowly; it is used to sharpen the image

  • coarse adjustment knob

    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

  • stage

    the section in which the specimen is placed for viewing; they have stage clips that hold the specimen slides in place

  • stage control knobs

    control knobs used to move the stage mechanically

  • aperture

    hole in the microscope stage through which the transmitted light from the source reaches the stage

  • illuminator

    light source

  • condenser

    lenses that are used to collect and focus light from the illuminator into the specimen

  • diaphragm

    controls the amount of light reaching the specimen