Microscopy & Staining Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards based on the lecture notes about Microscopy & Staining.

Magnification Power

The power of the microscope to magnify objects.

Ocular lens

Lens with 10x magnification.

Low power objective lenses

Lenses with 10x magnification.

High power objective lenses

Lenses with 40x magnification.

Oil immersion lens

Lenses with 100x magnification; Cedar Wood oil is used with it to enhance the resolution.

Cedar Wood oil

Used with oil immersion lens (100x) to enhance the resolution by preventing light rays from scattering after passing through specimen.

Smear Preparation (using a bacterial loop)

Smearing out of the sample using a bacterial loop.

Smear Preparation (using a swab)

Smearing out of the sample using a swab.

Simple Stain

Use one dye to observe cells.

Differential Stain

Use two dyes to distinguish between cell types.

Structural Stain

Special stains used to enhance cell details.

Cocci

Spherical bacterial shape.

Bacilli

Rod-shaped bacterial shape.

Spiral

Spiral bacterial shape.

Bacterial Spores

Appears unstained by Gram’s stain and can be stained by spore stain.

Bacterial Capsule

Appear as unstained halo by Gram's stain.

Purple

Gram-positive bacteria stain this color.

Pink

Gram-negative bacteria stain this color.

Gram’s stain

Differential staining based on the difference in composition between Gram-positive and Gram-negative cell walls.

Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) stain / Acid-fast stain

Acid-Fast (AF) stain is designed for genus Mycobacteria whose cell walls contain long-chain fatty (mycolic) acids.

Fluorescent (UV) microscope

Light source: Ultraviolet rays; Fluorescent stain, e.g., acridine orange.

Dark field microscope

Used for detection of certain motile organisms directly in patient specimens, e.g., spirochetes.

Electron microscope

Uses electron beam instead of light.