Light Micrograph Tapestries

Varicosed vein. Light micrograph of a section through a varicosed saphenous vein in the lower leg, showing its thickened wall. Varicose veins are veins that become swollen, lengthened and coiled. They form due to defective valves in the superficial veins, commonly in the legs, and may require surgical removal.

Light micrograph of bolete mushroom pores, field of view is about 3mm wide

Inverted bright field micrograph of Penicillium mold (stained with methyl blue), pictured area is about 160 micrometers wide.

Bright field light micrograph of fungal spores (ascospores) from March 2018 air sample, pictured area is approximately 120 microns tall.

Reflected light micrograph of a moss spore capsule, pictured area is about 1.7mm high.

Bright field photomicrograph of filamentous algae cells with attached Characium algae, pictured area is about 160 micrometers wide.

Inverted bright field light micrograph of Pleurotus sp. (oyster mushroom) cells, filed of view is approximately 204 microns wide.

Light micrograph of a tiny rove beetle (Staphylinidae) antenna, pictured area is about 240 micrometers tall.

Tiny ant under the microscope, field of view is approximately 1.2mm wide.

Carrot stem cells under the microscope

Reflected light micrograph of a fungivore rove beetle (Tribe Oxypodini), pictured area is about 1.6mm tall.

Photomicrograph of mushroom gills, pictured area is about 7.8mm wide.

Flammulina velutipes (velvet foot mushroom) growing on a log, with dark field light micrograph of its spores.

Light micrograph of a Cladonia sp. lichen from Washington state, pictured area is about 7.5mm tall.

Reflected light micrograph of a tiny ~3mm fly (Diptera).

Beetle larva, inverted bright field light micrograph, 60x magnification when printed 10cm wide.

Light micrograph of a tiny rove beetle (Staphylinidae) head, pictured area is approximately 1mm wide.

Planaria worm under the microscope, field of view is approximately 3mm wide.

Light micrograph of a fern sorus with discharged sporangia on underside of a leaf, pictured area is about 1.7mm wide.

Hydra (stained) under the microscope, filed of view is approximately 4.2mm tall.

Polarised light micrograph of crystals of tartaric acid. Tartaric acid is used in baking powders & as a food additive. It can be obtained from tartar (potassium hydrogen tartrate) deposits in wine vats. Magnification: x26.

Colorectal cancer cells. Confocal light micrograph of cultured colorectal cancer cells dividing. The cellular proteins are indicated by fluorescent markers: DAPI (blue, cell nuclei), tubulin (green), GM1 (red). The central island of flat cells (green) contains dividing cells and is surrounded by differentiated cells. The cells in the island have unusual properties and can potentially be used to study the effectiveness of new anti-cancer drugs. Magnification: x160 when printed at 10 centimetres across.

Oxytocin. Polarised light micrograph of crystals of the female hormone oxytocin. In women this hormone is secreted naturally by the pituitary gland. It is also manufactured synthetically in the laboratory for use as a drug. Oxytocin causes contractions of the uterus during labour, and it also stimulates the flow of milk in women who are breast-feeding. As a drug it may be used to induce childbirth, or to help to expel the placenta. Oxytocin may be given in the form of a nasal spray to help increase milk flow while breast-feeding. Magnification: x50

Colon, light micrograph. Goblet cells, which secrete mucous to lubricate the epithelium, are red. Magnification: x150 when printed at 10 centimetres wide.

Light microscopy of motor neurons in spinal cord grey matter. The cell bodies of motor neurons show a central nucleus and peripheral cytoplasm (deep purple). In histologic sections processes of dendrites and an axon extend from each cell body. In humans one such axon may be a metre in length if supplying the foot. Tissue between the cell bodies is called the neuropil and is formed of intermingling dendrites, axons, capillaries and glial cells. Magnification x100 when narrow width printed at 10 cm.

Cross-section through the cervical spinal cord, light micrograph. The silver stained section shows the central canal, the white and the grey matter (with dorsal and ventral horns). Cajal's silver stain.

Plasmacytoma. Light micrograph (LM) of a section from a nasal plasmocytoma. Plasmacytoma (purple tissue) of the head and neck region is a rare malignant tumour comprising approximately 3% of all plasma cell tumours. Approximately 80-90% of extramedullary (outside the bone marrow) plasmacytomas involve the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue of the upper airways, 75% of these involve the nasal and paranasal regions. Radiotherapy generally provides excellent local and often durable control of the plasmacytoma. However, there is a risk that plasmacytomas may recur or progress to myeloma. Magnification: x80 when printed at 10 centimetres wide. Human tissue.

Light microscopy of two renal corpuscles in the kidney. Entering and exiting the corpuscle at one pole are arterioles which form a compact branched mass of capillary loops with red blood cells inside them. These capillaries, known as a glomerulus, provide for a selective filter of blood plasma that circulates through them, constituting the primary mechanism by which the kidney removes waste products from the blood stream that later results in urine production. This initial filtrate also called provisional urine, passes into the gap (Bowman's space) between the glomerulus and the margin of the corpuscle called Bowman's capsule. There may be a million renal corpuscles in each adult human kidney, all of which are developed before birth ther...

Light microscopy of a tooth. Plane polarized light micrograph of a unstained section through a molar tooth in the lower jaw. Molar teeth are used for grinding up and chewing food. The crown of this tooth has a cap of enamel (yellow band, top centre). This is the hardest substance in the body, and prevents wearing of the tooth. The tooth is anchored in the gum by its roots (green/blue, running to lower left and right). The pulp cavity (black, upper centre) contains nerves and blood vessels. The pulp is surrounded by dentine (blue/grey) and dentinal tubules (yellow lines) which forms the bulk of the tooth. Dentine is a tissue similar to bone but harder. Magnification x5 when printed at 10 cm.

Microprocessor components. Light micrograph of an Intel Pentium microprocessor's clock driver, code cache and instruction fetch units. The clock driver regulates all the internal operations by the central processing unit (CPU). The cache memory (SRAM) stores data so that future requests can be served faster. In the instruction fetch unit the instruction is fetched from the memory address. The chip was fabricated by photolithography, using several overlapping metalization layers and vertical contacts to interconnect them in a mono-crystal silicon wafer, which serves as the substrate. Magnification: x22, when printed 10 centimetres wide.

Computer RAM module. Light micrograph of a 1 megabyte fast page mode dynamic random-access memory (FPM DRAM) module. Random-access technology allows the computer's central processing unit (CPU) to read and write data very quickly. The chip can reach very high densities of storage and is therefore generally used as the main memory in personal computers. Magnification: x45, when printed 10 centimetres wide.

Small intestine lining. Light micrograph of a section through villi (finger-like projections) in the healthy mucosal lining of the jejunum, the middle section of the small intestine. Villi are projections that increase the surface area for the absorption of food.

Reflected light micrograph of young turnip sprout

Winged spindle tree stem. Polarised light micrograph of a cross section through the stem of a young winged spindle tree (Euonymus alatus). This section shows the outer dry, corky region of the stem. Magnification: x200 when printed 10 centimetres wide.

CCD camera sensor. Light micrograph of a close-up of a CCD (charge-coupled device) sensor from a digital camera. This sensor is responsible for converting light from the camera lens into the electronic image. It is a 2-D array of metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) capacitors. Magnification: x90, when printed 10 centimetres wide.

CCD camera sensor. Light micrograph of a close-up of a CCD (charge-coupled device) sensor from a digital camera. This sensor is responsible for converting light from the camera lens into the electronic image. It is a 2-D array of metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) capacitors. Magnification: x90, when printed 10 centimetres wide.