Compound Light Microscope Parts & Definitions
A compound light microscope has many different parts that work together to produce a magnified image of a specimen. In order to obtain an image that is sharply focused, it is important to understand the parts of the compound microscope.
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Lenses
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In a compound microscope, there is at least one eyepiece lens as well as objective lenses. The eyepiece lens is at the top of the microscope, and the objective lenses are located near the specimen.
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Light Source
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Many compound light microscopes have an illuminator, which is a light source attached to the base that shines light onto the specimen. If there is no illuminator, a mirror is used to shine light on the sample from an external light source.
Nosepiece and Stage
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The nosepiece of the microscope allows the different objective lenses to be rotated into place. The stage of the microscope holds the slide in place.
Focus Adjustment Knobs
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The coarse focus adjustment knob is the first knob used to focus the image and moves the stage in large increments. The fine focus adjustment knob allows the image to come into sharp focus by moving the stage in small increments.
Tube, Base and Arm
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These components form the backbone of the microscope and provide support. The bottom of the microscope is called the base, the arm connects the base to the tube, and the tube connects the eyepiece to the nosepiece of the microscope.
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