SAINT MARY’S UNIVERSITY

3700 Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines

School of Health and Natural Sciences

CENTER FOR NATURAL SCIENCES
Microbiology and Parasitology
Name: ARA NICOLEYALA KIMAYONG
Course & year:BSN-1

THE MICRSOCOPE
Introduction

Microorganisms are miniscule organisms which cannot be seen with the

naked eye. In order to visualize them, a tool called microscope is necessary.

A microscope is an optical instrument that magnifies an object so that it

may be seen by the observer. It also provides resolution, which is the ability to
distinguish two nearby objects as separate. A combination of magnification
and resolution is necessary to clearly view specimens under the microscope.
The light microscope bends a beam of light at the specimen using a series of
lenses to provide a clear image of the specimen to the observer.

The microscope must always be handled properly. You must observe the
following rules for its transport, cleaning, use, and storage:

✓ Everything on a microscope is unbelievably expensive, so be careful.

✓ Transport in an upright position with one hand on the arm and the
other supporting the base. Set it down carefully at your workstation. Do
not drag it across the table.
✓ Do not touch the glass part of the lenses with your fingers. Use only
special lens paper to clean the lenses. Clean all lenses before and after
use. Slides should also be cleaned.
✓ Always begin the focusing process with the 4x or 10x objective lens in
position changing to the higher-power lenses as necessary.
✓ The coarse adjustment knob may be used with the 4x or 10x lens but use
only the fine adjustment with 40x or 100x.
✓ Adjust lighting appropriately. Turn off the light when not in use.
✓ Always use a cover slip with temporary (wet mount) preparations.
✓ Always keep your microscope covered when not in use.
✓ Always carry a microscope with both hands. Grasp the arm with one
hand and place the other hand under the base for support.

Copyright 2021. All rights reserved. No parts of this lecture may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic means, including information
storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author, except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review.
 SAINT MARY’S UNIVERSITY
3700 Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines

School of Health and Natural Sciences

CENTER FOR NATURAL SCIENCES
Microbiology and Parasitology
✓ When you put the microscope away, remove the slide from the stage,
and rotate the lowest-power objective lens into position. Wrap the cord
around the clips on the back, not around the base. Never remove or
loosen any parts from the microscope.
✓ If it isn't working don't try to fix it unless you really know what you are
doing. Make a note of the symptoms and inform your instructor of any
mechanical problems.

Objectives

• To identify the parts of the microscope.

• To give the function of its part.

Procedures

Identifying the parts of the microscope.

1. Draw and label the parts of the binocular microscope.

(Attached the picture of YOUR drawing. It should cover 1 page. Use pencil
only)
2. Give the functions of the following parts of the microscope.

Parts Functions

Arm This is the part connecting the base and to the head and
the eyepiece tube to the base of the microscope. It gives
support to the head of the microscope and it 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.
Mirror it is used to reflect light from an external light source up
through the bottom of the stage.
Base It acts as microscopes support. It also carriers the
microscopic illuminators.
Stage This is the section on which the specimen is placed for
viewing. They have stage clips hold the specimen slides in
place. The most common stage is a mechanical stage,
which allows the control of the slides by moving the slides
using the mechanical knobs on the stage instead of

Copyright 2021. All rights reserved. No parts of this lecture may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic means, including information
storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author, except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review.
 SAINT MARY’S UNIVERSITY
3700 Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines

School of Health and Natural Sciences

CENTER FOR NATURAL SCIENCES
Microbiology and Parasitology
moving it manually.
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 more
the image clarity. More sophisticated microscopes come
with an Abbe condenser that has a high magnification of
about 1000X.
Diaphragm it’s also known as the iris. It’s 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.
Coarse adjustment This is the knob on the side of the microscope that moves
knob the objective lens up and down. It is used in conjunction
with the fine focus.
Fine adjustment knob This knob is inside the coarse adjustment knob and is used
to
bring the specimen into sharp focus under low power and is
used for all focusing when
using high power lenses.
Body tube The body tube is a hollow tube through which light travels
from the
objective to the ocular. It contains a prism at the base of
the tube that bends the light rays
so they can enter the inclined tube.
Eyepiece The ocular lens, or eyepiece, magnifies the image. It
contains a measuring
scale called and ocular micrometer. The ocular micrometer
has no units.
Objective lenses A low-power objective lens magnifies 10x, but remember
• Low power that it is coupled with an eyepiece lens, so the total
• High power magnification is 10x times the power of the eyepiece lens.
• Oil immersion A high-power objective lens magnifies 40x, with total
magnification 400x if the eyepiece lens is 10x power, and it
is ideal for observing very fine detail, such as nerve cells in

Copyright 2021. All rights reserved. No parts of this lecture may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic means, including information
storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author, except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review.
 SAINT MARY’S UNIVERSITY
3700 Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines

School of Health and Natural Sciences

CENTER FOR NATURAL SCIENCES
Microbiology and Parasitology
the retina or the striations in skeletal muscle.
The longest objective lens is an oil immersion objective lens,
which magnifies 100x. The total magnification is 1000x if the
eyepiece lens is 10x power. The oil immersion objective lens
is used for examining the detail of individual cells, such as
red blood cells.

3. Enumerate the different types of microscopes and their uses.

Simple Microscope
A simple microscope is simply a large magnifying glass with a shorter focal length that
has a convex mirror with a small focal area. The most common examples of this type of
device are the handheld lens and eyepiece lens.

When a material is held close to the lens of the microscope, its focus is created, and the
original object becomes magnified and more erect. Then, it focuses on a portion of the
material by bringing together the two edges of the lens. This creates a smaller, more
focused image of the material than the larger area.

Since it’s only a simple microscope, it only has one magnification level depending on
what lens is used. Therefore, simple microscopes are only used for reading and
magnifying non-complex items. For instance, you can use a magnifying glass to zoom in
the details of a map.
A compound microscope is the most common type of microscope used today, which
mechanism is explained earlier. It is basically a microscope that has a lens or a camera
on it that has a compound medium in between. This compound medium allows for
magnifications in a very fine scale. Compound microscopes are extremely useful for
research on different areas. It has made a big impact on science and technology in
general. Some of its popular uses are when viewing a scientific specimen for
educational and research purposes. If you’re looking into studying in medical school,
you’ll often encounter this type of microscope in your classes.
Stereo Microscope
The stereo microscope, dissecting or stereoscopic microscope, is an optical microscopy
version designed specifically for low magnification imaging of a biological specimen. It
works through reflecting light off the specimen’s surface rather than transmitted through
its medium.

This type of microscope is often used in chemistry laboratories where more detailed,
three-dimensional images are required that would be possible with an electron
microscope or other high-powered microscope. While the stereo microscopy
technology has existed for over 100 years, stereo microscopes only recently have come

Copyright 2021. All rights reserved. No parts of this lecture may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic means, including information
storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author, except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review.
 SAINT MARY’S UNIVERSITY
3700 Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines

School of Health and Natural Sciences

CENTER FOR NATURAL SCIENCES
Microbiology and Parasitology
into being in the laboratory and can produce higher quality images than ever before.

Many people choose stereoscopes over other microscope models because it can
produce better quality images depending on one’s needs. In addition, these
microscope models require less maintenance and are inexpensive. Stereo microscope
applications involve less thorough microscopic requirements, such as viewing
manufacturing materials, circuit board work, dissection, and inspection.
Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)
A scanning electron microscope is a very popular type of scanning electron
microscopes, which produces images of a material by scanning the sample with a
high-powered beam of electrons. The electrons interacting with atoms within the
sample create different signals which contain data about the structure and
topography of the material. The images that are produced using these microscope
instruments are highly accurate as well as they can be viewed in high resolution using a
microscope eyepiece or magnifier.

To obtain appropriate results from an SEM, the sample or specimen should have
electrical conduction for the electrons to bounce off on its surface, thus producing a
clear image. For the sample to become electrically conductive enough, they’re
coated in a thin layer of metals like gold.

Several techniques can be employed to enhance the image quality of SEM, such as:
fluorescence imaging, tip electron microscopy, multi-beam scanning and the use of
colloidal crystals.
Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM)
Transmission electron microscopy is an optical microscopy method in which an
electrical beam of electrons is transmitted through an unstained sample to create an
optical image of the sample. Instead of sending electrons to scan and bounce off the
specimen as what SEMs do, TEMs allow the electrons to pass through the thin sample.
The sample is usually an ultrathin slice less than 50 micrometers thick or an electrolyte
suspension suspended on a grid of grid-like plates.

In contrast to ordinary compound microscopes, TEMs have amazing magnification

that’s possibly 10,000 times more than what optical microscopes do, allowing
researchers to view exceptionally small specimens. It can even illustrate the
arrangement of the atoms within a sample.

Because of the sophistication of TEMs, they’re extremely technical and expensive.

Students usually don’t have access to this type of microscope as they’re for scientists
doing demanding work involving the field of nanotechnology, medical research, life
sciences, biological research, material research, gemology, and metallurgy.

Copyright 2021. All rights reserved. No parts of this lecture may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic means, including information
storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author, except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review.
 SAINT MARY’S UNIVERSITY
3700 Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines

School of Health and Natural Sciences

CENTER FOR NATURAL SCIENCES
Microbiology and Parasitology
However, the samples require detailed preparation where it must be placed in a
vacuum chamber. Thus, living samples such as protozoa can’t be examined under TEM.
while the samples can be stained or coated with chemicals to protect their structure,
there are higher chances that the microscope will still destroy the sample. Despite these
drawbacks, the contributions of transmission electron microscopes are unrivaled
4. How did the invention of microscope revolutionize the field of
biology/microbiology?
With microscopes, biologists discovered that living things were made of cells. Cells are
the little factories that work together to make up larger living things like humans. A man
named Robert Hooke got the first look at cells in 1665. In 1676, another scientist, Antony
van Leeuwenhoek, wrote down his description of them. iologists also learned how the
cells in a plant or animal work together.

5. How did the microscope change the world?

This pioneering work allowed for easy identification of epidemic and endemic diseases;
once doctors understood what caused illness, they could combat its spread through
quarantine, disinfection, vaccines, and antibiotics. Public health was born!

References:

July 1, 2021 by Faith Mokobi.Parts of a microscope with functions and labeled diagram.
https://microbenotes.com/parts-of-a-microscope/

https://www.microscopeworld.com/t-parts.aspx

https://amscope.com/pages/microscope-parts-and-functions

http://www.biology.ualberta.ca/facilities/multimedia/uploads/alberta/define.pdf

https://sciencing.com/functions-objective-lenses-6470088.html

https://medicalaid.org/what-are-the-5-types-of-microscopes-and-their-
uses/?gclid=CjwKCAjw64eJBhAGEiwABr9o2MYbxSlyd7_gqgtHgqg0wi4swFzaDIjji-
EL_Qg7H3rYGBFenKotphoC3aUQAvD_BwE

https://askabiologist.asu.edu/meeting-microorganisms

https://artsci.case.edu/dittrick/2017/01/11/seeing-small-how-the-microscope-changed-
everything/

Copyright 2021. All rights reserved. No parts of this lecture may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic means, including information
storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author, except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review.
 SAINT MARY’S UNIVERSITY
3700 Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines

School of Health and Natural Sciences

CENTER FOR NATURAL SCIENCES
Microbiology and Parasitology

Copyright 2021. All rights reserved. No parts of this lecture may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic means, including information
storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author, except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review.