Microscope Anatomy: Midterm Review

• Review all labs for the midterm exam.
• Pay attention to figures on review exercise sheets related to labeling.

Microscope Parts

• The body tube connects the eyepiece to the objective lenses.
• The eyepiece (ocular) is the lens through which the viewer looks to see the specimen, usually at 10x magnification.
• The arm is the part of the microscope that connects the body tube to the base.
• The body is the main section of the microscope, housing optical components.
• The rotating nosepiece holds multiple objective lenses for varying magnification.
• The objectives are the primary lenses that magnify the specimen, typically ranging from 4x to 100x.
• The slide holder finger secures the slide on the mechanical stage.
• The mechanical stage control knobs are used to move the slide precisely on the stage.
• The stage supports the slide being viewed.
• The condenser focuses light onto the specimen.
• The iris diaphragm lever adjusts the amount of light passing through the condenser.
• The substage is located below the stage.
• The coarse adjustment knob is used for initial focusing at lower magnifications.
• The fine adjustment knob fine-tunes the focus for clear viewing.
• The base supports the microscope.
• The illuminator (lamp) provides the light source.
• The illuminator switch controls the light source.

Body Cavities

• The thoracic cavity contains the left and right pleural cavities.
• The left and right pleural cavities surround the lungs.
• The mediastinum is the space between the pleural cavities, containing the heart, esophagus, and trachea.
• The pericardial cavity surrounds the heart.
• The diaphragm separates the thoracic and abdominal cavities.
• The abdominal cavity contains the digestive organs.
• The pelvic cavity contains the reproductive organs, bladder, and rectum.
• The abdominopelvic cavity is a common way of referring to the abdominal and pelvic cavities together.
• The cranial cavity houses the brain.
• The vertebral canal contains the spinal cord.

Anatomical Regions

• The cranial cavity contains the brain.
• The thoracic cavity contains the lungs and heart.
• The abdominal cavity contains the digestive organs.
• The abdominopelvic cavity combines the abdominal and pelvic regions.
• The right upper quadrant (RUQ) includes the liver and gallbladder.
• The left upper quadrant (LUQ) includes the stomach and spleen.
• The right lower quadrant (RLQ) includes the appendix.
• The left lower quadrant (LLQ) includes the sigmoid colon.

Anatomical Terminology

• The sagittal plane divides the head into left and right sections.
• The brain is located in the cranial cavity.
• The larynx and thyroid gland are in the neck region.
• The lungs are located in the thoracic cavity.
• The heart is in the thoracic cavity.
• The liver and stomach are in the abdominal cavity.
• The gallbladder is inferior to the liver.
• The large and small intestines are in the abdominal cavity.
• Lymph nodes are part of the lymphatic system.
• Superior means towards the head or upper part of a structure.
• Inferior means towards the feet or lower part of a structure.
• Anterior (ventral) is towards the front of the body.
• Posterior (dorsal) is towards the back of the body.
• Medial means towards the midline of the body.
• Lateral means away from the midline of the body.
• Proximal means closer to the point of attachment or origin.
• Distal means farther from the point of attachment or origin.
• The midline divides the body into equal left and right halves.

Anatomical Planes and Sections

• The sagittal plane divides the body into left and right sections.
• The frontal (coronal) plane divides the body into anterior and posterior sections.
• The transverse (horizontal) plane divides the body into superior and inferior sections.
• Sections along these planes provide different views of internal structures.

Regional Terms

• Cephalic refers to the head.
• Frontal refers to the forehead.
• Orbital refers to the eye cavity.
• Nasal refers to the nose.
• Otic refers to the ear.
• Oral refers to the mouth.
• Buccal refers to the cheek.
• Mental refers to the chin.
• Cervical refers to the neck.
• Acromial refers to the point of the shoulder.
• Sternal refers to the sternum (breastbone) region.
• Axillary refers to the armpit.
• Mammary refers to the breast.
• Brachial refers to the upper arm.
• Antecubital refers to the front of the elbow.
• Antebrachial refers to the forearm.
• Carpal refers to the wrist.
• Palmar refers to the palm of the hand.
• Digital refers to the fingers or toes.
• Abdominal refers to the abdomen.
• Umbilical refers to the navel (belly button).
• Inguinal refers to the groin.
• Coxal refers to the hip.
• Genital refers to the external reproductive organs.
• Patellar refers to the front of the knee.
• Crural refers to the leg (from knee to ankle).
• Pedal refers to the foot.
• Tarsal refers to the ankle.
• Digital refers to the toes.
• Femoral refers to the thigh.
• Popliteal refers to the back of the knee.
• Sural refers to the calf.
• Calcaneal refers to the heel.
• Plantar refers to the sole of the foot.
• Occipital refers to the back of the head.
• Vertebral refers to the spinal column.
• Dorsal refers to the back.
• Lumbar refers to the lower back.
• Sacral refers to the region between the hips.
• Gluteal refers to the buttocks.
• Perineal refers to the region between the anus and external reproductive organs.

Tissue Types

• Adipose tissue (from subcutaneous layer) contains adipocytes, fat droplets, a nucleus, blood vessels and a cell membrane at 400x magnification.
• Reticular connective tissue (from spleen) at 1,000x magnification includes white blood cells, reticular fibers, and fibroblasts.
• Dense regular connective tissue (from tendon) at 500x magnification contains collagen fibers and fibroblasts.
• Elastic connective tissue (from artery wall) at 160x magnification features collagen fibers, fibroblasts, and elastic fibers.
• Hyaline cartilage (from costal cartilage of ribs) at 160x magnification contains chondrocytes in lacunae, a nucleus, and an extracellular matrix.
• Areolar tissue (from beneath the skin) at 800x magnification features collagen and elastic fibers, fibroblasts, and ground substance.
• Elastic cartilage (from ear) at 400x magnification includes chondrocytes in lacunae, elastic fibers, and ground substance.
• Fibrocartilage (from intervertebral discs) at 400x magnification contains chondrocytes in lacunae, collagen fibers and an extracellular matrix.
• Compact bone (from skeleton) at 200x magnification contains osteons, a central canal and lacunae.
• Blood at 400x magnification includes red and white blood cells, platelets, and extracellular matrix (plasma).

Muscle Tissue

• Skeletal muscle at 400x magnification shows striations, muscle fibers (cells), and nuclei.
• Smooth muscle (from small intestine) at 400x magnification contains cytoplasm, a cell membrane, and a nucleus.
• Cardiac muscle (from heart) at 400x magnification features striations, intercalated discs, a branched muscle fiber (cell), and nuclei.

Nervous Tissue

• Nervous tissue (350x magnification) contains nuclei of neuroglia, cellular processes of neuron, and a nucleolus within nucleus of neuron

Skin Structure

• The epidermis is the outer layer of the skin; the dermis is the layer beneath the epidermis, and the subcutaneous layer is below the dermis.
• The epidermis includes the stratum corneum, stratum basale, and basement membrane.
• The dermis contains structures such as sweat gland ducts, hair shafts and arrector pili muscles.
• Other skin structures include sweat glands, sebaceous glands, hair follicles, adipose tissue, blood vessels, nerve cell processes, and muscle layers.
• Thick skin includes the stratum corneum, stratum lucidum, stratum granulosum, stratum spinosum, stratum basale, dermal papilla, basement membrane and dermis.
• Skin layers include the epidermis, dermis, hair follicle, arrector pili muscle, and sebaceous gland.
• Hair follicle structures include the dense irregular connective tissue of the dermis, the hair follicle itself, the hair root, the hair bulb, the region of cell division, and adipose tissue.
• Skin layers with glands include sweat pores, hair follicle openings, dermal papillae, ducts of merocrine sweat glands, hair roots, hair follicles, sebaceous glands, dense irregular connective tissue, and merocrine (eccrine) sweat glands.

Epithelial Tissue

• Simple squamous epithelium (side view from lung) at 250x magnification contains free (apical) surface of tissue, a nucleus, connective tissue, air sac and a basement membrane.
• Simple cuboidal epithelium (from kidney) at 165x magnification includes a free surface of tissue, lumen, basement membrane, nucleus and connective tissue.
• Pseudostratified columnar epithelium with cilia (from trachea) features cytoplasm, goblet cells, nuclei, a basement membrane and connective tissue.
• Stratified squamous epithelium (nonkeratinized) consists of squamous cells, a layer of dividing cells, a basement membrane, and connective tissue.
• Additionally, skin structures visualized include the stratum corneum, stratum granulosum, stratum spinosum, stratum basale, melanin, dermal papilla, basement membrane and dermis.