Parts of a Microscope with Functions and Labeled Diagram

October 27, 2024 by Prashant Dahal

Edited By: Sagar Aryal

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.

Parts of a microscope.

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.