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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Aperture – This is a hole in the microscope stage through which the transmitted light from the
source reaches the stage.
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.
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.
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.
Condenser focus knob – This is a knob that moves the condenser up or down, thus controlling
the focus of light on the specimen.
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.
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.
Light Switch – Light Switch is an electrical control device. Light switches are used to on and off
the illuminator.
Brightness Adjustment – The brightness adjustment system controls the voltage supplied to the
light bulb, controlling the intensity (brightness) of the light bulb.