Microscopy

Polarized light microscopy

Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view objects and areas of objects that cannot be seen with the naked eye (objects that are not within the resolution range of the normal eye). There are three well-known branches of microscopy: optical microscopy, electron microscopy, and scanning probe microscopy.

History

Microscopy has been a dynamic field since its inception during the 17th century. The first microscope was invented by Zacharias Jansen in the 16th century. This was a simple microscope with a magnification of 3x. Later, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek improved the microscope and was the first to observe and describe microorganisms.

Olympus BX61 fluorescence microscope

Types of Microscopy

There are several types of microscopy techniques, each suited for specific uses. The most commonly used techniques are:

• Optical microscopy: This is the oldest, simplest and most widely used form of microscopy. Objects are illuminated with light, which is collected by a lens and magnified.

Flower through microscope

• Electron microscopy: This type of microscopy uses a beam of electrons instead of light to create an image. It has a much higher magnification and resolution than light microscopy.

Degenerating drosophila retina

• Scanning probe microscopy: This form of microscopy measures the interaction between a probe and a surface to create a detailed 3D image.

Leica microscopy slide scanner

Applications

Microscopy is used in many fields, but is particularly important in the field of biology and medicine. It is used to study the structure and function of cells (cell biology), the tissues they compose (histology), and the organs and structures made up of those tissues (anatomy). In medicine, microscopy is used to diagnose disease at a cellular level (pathology).

See also

• Microscope
• Histology
• Cell biology
• Pathology