Microscopy and Imaging Techniques Flashcards

In confocal microscopy, what is the primary advantage over conventional fluorescence microscopy?

Answer: It eliminates out-of-focus fluorescence to produce sharper optical sections

Confocal microscopy uses a pinhole aperture to exclude out-of-focus light, enabling thin optical sectioning and three-dimensional imaging.

What is the correct procedure when switching from a lower to a higher power objective lens on a microscope?

Answer: Rotate the nosepiece while watching from the side, then use only the fine focus adjustment

When switching to a higher power objective, only the fine focus is used since the microscope is parfocal and coarse adjustment could damage the lens or slide.

Which component of a compound microscope controls the amount of light passing through the specimen?

Answer: Iris diaphragm

The iris diaphragm is an adjustable aperture in the condenser that controls the amount and angle of light illuminating the specimen.

What type of electron microscopy is used to examine the internal ultrastructure of thin-sectioned specimens?

Answer: Transmission electron microscopy (TEM)

TEM passes electrons through thin specimens to create high-resolution images of internal cellular structures at the nanometer scale.

Why should microscope lenses be cleaned only with lens paper and lens cleaning solution?

Answer: To prevent scratching the lens coating and avoid contamination with oils from other materials

Lens paper is lint-free and non-abrasive, and lens solution dissolves oils without damaging the delicate anti-reflective coatings on microscope lenses.

What is the function of the condenser in a compound light microscope?

Answer: To focus light onto the specimen to maximize illumination and resolution

The condenser focuses light from the illuminator onto the specimen, optimizing the cone of light for the objective lens being used.