THESE MICROSCOPES USE VISIBLE LIGHT

Compound light microscope (Brightfield illumination)

Simple staining is often necessary to improve contrast with

this microscope.
This microscope uses visible light and cannot resolves structures
less than 0.2 m
By focusing the light and brightly illuminating a specimen,
internal structures can be seen.

Darkfield microscope

This microscope produces an image of a light cell against a dark

background; internal structures are generally NOT very visible.
This microscope is used to examine living cells that cannot be
stained by ordinary methods.

Phase-contrast microscope

This microscope is used to see internal structures of cells in

a natural state.
This microscope takes advantage of differences in the
refractive indexes of cell structures.
This microscope uses two sets of rays (a direct light ray and
a reflected light ray) to clearly see internal structures.

Differential Interference Contrast (DIC) microscope

Like the phase-contrast microscope, this microscope takes

advantage of differences in the refractive indexes of cell
structures. The difference is that two beams of light are used
rather than one.
The resolution of this microscope is higher than a standard
phase-contrast microscope; the image is brightly colored and
is three-dimensional

THESE MICROSCOPES USE SPECIFIC WAVELENGTHS

OF LIGHT
Confocal microscopy
With this microscope, blue light is used, and specimens are
stained with fluorochromes so that they will return or emit
light

 These microscopes are used in conjunction with computers

to reconstruct a three-dimensional image.

Two photon microscopy (TPM)

As with confocal microscopy, specimens are stained with

fluorochromes so that they will return or emit light
With this microscope, red light is used; TPM can track the
activity of cells in real time.

THESE MICROSCOPES DO NOT USE VISIBLE LIGHT

Fluorescence microscope
This microscope is used to observe a specimen that emits
light when illuminated with an ultraviolet light.

Electron microscope
This microscope achieves the highest magnification and
greatest resolution of cells.
With this microscope, the observer does NOT look at an image
through a lens.

Transmission electron microscope (TEM)

o Thin sections of organisms can be seen.

Scanning electron microscope (SEM)

o This microscope produces a three-dimensional image.

Scanned-Probe microscopy
This microscope allows visualization of surfaces and of atoms and
molecules.
DNA or botulinum toxin can be seen with this type of microscopy

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM)

three-dimensional images
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) produced