1.

Head – This is also known as the body. It carries the optical parts in the
upper part of the microscope.
2. Base – It acts as microscopes support. It also carries microscopic
illuminators.
3. Arms – 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 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.

Optical parts of microscope

1. Eyepiece – also known as the ocular. This is the part used to look through
the microscope. Its found at the top of the microscope. Its standard
magnification is 10x with an optional eyepiece having magnifications from
5X to 30X.
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. Objective lenses – These are the major lenses used for specimen
visualization. They have a magnification power of 40x-100X. There are about
1- 4 objective lenses placed on one microscope, in that some are rare facing
and others face forward.  Each lens has its own magnification power.
4. Nose piece – also known as the revolving turret. It holds the objective
lenses. It is movable hence it cal revolve the objective lenses depending on
the magnification power of the lens.
5. The Adjustment knobs – These are knobs that are used to focus the
microscope. There are two types of adjustment knobs i.e fine adjustment
knobs and coarse adjustment knobs.
6. 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.
7. Aperture – This is a hole on the microscope stage, through which the
transmitted light from the source reaches the stage.
8. Microscopic illuminator – This is the microscopes light source, located at the
base. It is used instead of a mirror. It captures light from an external source
of a low voltage of about 100v.
9. 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.
10. Diaphragm – it’s also known as the iris. Its 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.
11. Condenser focus knob – this is a knob that moves the condenser up or
down thus controlling the focus of light on the specimen.
12. Abbe Condenser – this is a condenser specially designed for high-quality
microscopes, which makes the condenser to be movable and allows very
high magnification of above 400X. High-quality microscopes normally have
a high numerical aperture than objective lenses.
13. 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.
Compound Microscope

Parts of Compound Microscope

 Mechanical parts
 Optical parts

(A) Mechanical Parts of a Compound Microscope

2. Pillar - It is a vertical projection. This stands by resting on the base and supports the stage.

3. Arm - The entire microscope is handled by a strong and curved structure known as the arm.

4. Stage - The flat and rectangular plate that is connected to the arm’s lower end is called the
stage. The specimen is placed on the stage for studying and examining the various features. The
centre of the stage has a hole through which light can pass.

5. Inclination joint -It is a joint, wherein the arm is fastened to the compound microscope’s pillar.
The microscope can be tilted using the inclination joint.

6. Clips - The upper part of the stage is connected to two clips. The slide can be held in its
position with the help of the clips.

7. Diaphragm -The diaphragm is fastened below the stage. It controls and adjusts the intensity of
light that passes into the microscope. The diaphragm can be of two types: Disc diaphragm and
Iris diaphragm

8. Nose piece - The nose piece is circular and a rotating metal part that is connected to the body
tube’s lower end. The nose piece has three holes wherein the objective lenses are embedded.

9. Body tube - The upper part of the arm of the microscope comprises a hollow and tubular
structure known as the body tube. The body tube can be shifted down and up using the
adjustment knobs.
10. Fine adjustment knob - It is the smaller knob, which is used for sharp and fine focusing of the
object. For accurate and sharp focusing, this knob can be used.

11. Coarse adjustment knob - It is a large knob that is used for moving the body tube down and
up for bringing the object to be examined under exact focus.

(B) Optical Parts of Compound Microscope

At the top of the body tube, a lens is planted which is known as the eyepiece. On the rim of the
eyepiece, there are certain markings such as 5X, 10X, 15X, etc. These indicate the magnification
power. The object’s magnified image can be observed with the help of an eyepiece.

2. Mirror - A mirror is found attached wither to the pillar or the lower end of the arm. It consists of
a concave mirror on one side and a plain mirror on the other side. It can be used for reflection of
light rays into the microscope.

3. Objective lenses

At the bottom of the body tube, there are two objective lenses, which are connected to the
revolving nose piece. The three objective lenses are as follows: Oil immersion objective – 100X
High power objective – 45X Low power objective – 10X

Working Mechanism Of The Compound Microscope

 View into the eyepiece. Rearrange the mirror such that adequate light passes into the
microscope.
 The mirror, lenses, stage, and slides should be cleared of dust and be clean.
 Place the slide in the middle of the stage.
 Firmly secure the slide with clips at two edges of the slide to ensure that the slide cannot
move.
 The nose piece is adjusted in such a way that the low power objective is aligned with the
object of focus placed on the slide.
 The coarse adjustment knob can be shifted upwards or downwards such that the slide is
well under focus.
 Turn the fine adjustment knob by moving upwards or downwards to get a clear and sharp
image of the object under focus.
 All minute details of the object are observed under low power objective. Necessary
diagrams are sketched.
 The nose piece is now turned to bring the high power objective aligning with the object.
The fine adjustment knob is tuned as much as possible to get a bright and precise view
of the object.
 In high power, the details of the object are observed. Draw the necessary diagrams. The
coarse adjustment knob should not be used when the object is being examined in high
power as it can crush the slide.