Topic: Invertoscope or Inverted microscope Faculty: Pathology Course: BSc MLT - 3rd year

1. INVERTED MICROSCOPE
Dr. Salman Ansari
Dept. of Pathology
Kanachur Institute of Medical Sciences

2. Contents
● Inverted microscope
● Principle
● Parts
● Working
● Applications
● Advantages
● Disadvantages

3. Inverted Microscope(Invertoscope)
● An inverted microscope is a microscope with its light source
and condenser on the top above the stage, while the objectives
and turret are below the stage
● Invented in 1850 by American chemist - J. Lawrence Smith
● Used for observation of biological specimens
● Also called “cell culture microscope”

4. Principle of inverted microscope
● Same as that of compound microscope
● The source for transmitted light and the condenser are placed
on the top of the stage, pointing down toward the stage
● The objectives are located below the stage pointing up
● The specimens or cells are observed through the bottom of the
cell culture vessel

5. Parts of an invertoscope
● Light source
● Condenser
● Stage: fixed stage - large, to hold vessels like petri dish
● Objective lens: movable lenses of different magnifications
● Turret(nosepiece): holds the lenses
● Eyepiece
● Knobs: for fine and coarse adjustment

6. CONDENSER
LIGHT SOURCE
EYE PIECE
OBJECTIVE
PARTS OF AN UPRIGHT MICROSCOPE

7. PARTS OF AN INVERTED MICROSCOPE

8. A - Light source
B - Condenser
C - Sample dish
D - Stage
E - Objective lens
F - Eyepiece
Simplified diagram

9. Working
1. Place the specimen in a slide or glass container on the
stage.
2. The stage does not move at all.
3. Set the focus by moving the condenser and the objective
lenses using the adjusting knob.
4. The specimen can be observed through the ocular lens

10. Applications
1. It can be used to observe the living cells in their natural state
present at the bottom of any glass container such as a Petri plate,
flask, etc. without preparing the slide
2. also used in diagnostic assays such as microscopic observation
drug susceptibility(MODS) assay for TB
3. useful in fungal cultures e.g. detection of Phytophthora species
in cultures.
4. It is also helpful in parasitology to observe nematodes such as
Vermiform nematodes.

11. Advantages
● It has a wide stage that favors it to view specimens in Petri plates
and therefore, it is commonly used to study live cells, by viewing
the cells from the bottom of the cell culture apparatus.
● It can be used to view the cell tissues in their original vessel,
which are larger than microscopic slides, which makes it better than
the upright microscope which only views specimens in small
microscopic slides.
● It can be used to view cells in large quantities of the medium
than in small specimen quantities on a glass slide under a coverslip.
● No contact between sample and objective, hence sterility is
maintained

12. Limitations
● Very costly
● Manufactured by only few companies
● It is difficult viewing the specimens through thick glass
vessels such as a Petri plate hence they require very high
optical quality.

13. Summary
● Upright vs inverted microscope
● Principle?
● Parts?
● Uses?
● Advantages?
● Disadvantages?

14. Name the parts

15. For notes,
scan:
References:
● https://microbenotes.com/inverted-microscope/
Questions:
salman.s.ansari92@gmail.com
For PPT, scan: