Microscopy

This chapter focuses on microscopy, which is the use of a microscope to examine and analyse objects that would normally be too small to be seen with the naked eye. Microscopes that use a single lens are called simple microscopes; those with more than one are compound microscopes. Microscopes are perhaps the most widely used instruments in biomedical science. They have contributed greatly to the knowledge and understanding of pathological processes, and are used in all branches of biomedical science. Light microscopes are used to look at cells and tissues. The electron microscope, with its vastly increased magnification and resolution, is used to visualize virus particles, explore the structures of bacteria, and observe more fully the subcellular components seen in both normal and diseased cells and tissues. The chapter describes how the various types of microscope are constructed and work, and how they can be applied to diagnostic biomedical practice.