DIMENSIONS IN LIGHT MICROSCOPY – 1
The purpose of this and the following page is to provide some basic understanding about the dimensions of structures observed under a light microscope.
Very small representative fragments of tissues and organs are usually collected for a microscopic analysis. In a laboratory a section will be produced after the fragments were subjected to a series of procedures. Thus, in most cases, only very small fractions of an organ are analyzed.
For someone unexperienced it is not easy to assess at what magnification the structures are being visualized with a microscope, in printings or on a screen.
The measurement unit used to express the dimensions of images of objects obtained with a light microscope is the micrometer. Its abbreviation is µm. One thousand µm fit into one milimeter (mm), 10 mm fit into one centimeter (cm) and one thousand mm as well as one hundred cm fit into one meter.
Very small representative fragments of tissues and organs are usually collected for a microscopic analysis. In a laboratory a section will be produced after the fragments were subjected to a series of procedures. Thus, in most cases, only very small fractions of an organ are analyzed.
For someone unexperienced it is not easy to assess at what magnification the structures are being visualized with a microscope, in printings or on a screen.
The measurement unit used to express the dimensions of images of objects obtained with a light microscope is the micrometer. Its abbreviation is µm. One thousand µm fit into one milimeter (mm), 10 mm fit into one centimeter (cm) and one thousand mm as well as one hundred cm fit into one meter.
Therefore, one micrometer equals to one thousandth of a millimeter and one millionth of a meter.
