The use of microscopes in medicine by physicians has come a long way since curved glass was discovered to enhance and enlarge images of an object hundreds of years ago.  Today, physician microscopes provide excellent quality tools for the examination and analysis of specimens in medicine.  They are also being utilized for detailed surgery and in situ observation of sample specimens.

The beginnings
The first microscopes were not used in medicine nor were physicians the first observers who peeked through the optical lens.  Rather, they were rough, simple devices compared to the physician microscopes in use today.  Before the device constructed by Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, the earliest microscopes were already being present during the ancient times in the form of a magnifying glass.  The use of a magnifying glass in order to enlarge images first began in the 13th century, when Roger Bacon discovered the use of the glass lens by accident.  However, the microscope as the device that we know today was developed in the later part of the 16th century in England, probably as a result of changes made in the telescope.  It is thought that by inverting the telescope, the microscope was born.

The earliest microscope was a simple device composed of a narrow tube, a lens on one end and a specimen plate on the other.  The magnification was only about 10 times or less the specimen’s actual size.  However, it was enough to allow the user to observe one-celled organisms and other bacteria.  It was in 1597 when the father and son team of Hans and Zaccharias Janssen discovered that by using two lenses at either end of a sliding tube, a better magnification could be achieved.  This would become the first appearance of a device similar to today’s compound microscope.  During its early years, the microscope was not only a scientific device, it was also a toy.  Most of the improvements on the design of the microscope were the inclusion of a condenser lens and some sort of manipulating device to control the tube’s movements.

By the 1680s, users of the microscope (also known as microscopists, one of whom was Robert Hooke) had begun discovery of cells, blood corpuscles, capillaries and bacteria.  However, most of the discoveries that later contributed to microbiology and medicine were made by Antoni van Leeuwenhoek.

Major changes in the 18th and 19th centuries
During the next 200 years or so, vast improvements in the design of the microscope occurred, allowing better observation and techniques in specimen preparation.  Mechanical improvements were the significant changes experienced by the microscope in the 18th and 19th centuries.  These changes helped improve the microscope’s stability and ease of operation.  This was also the time when objective lenses were improved and users can manipulate resolution and magnification to improve the appearance of the image.  Microscope users also began utilizing the staining technique to observe specimens, using chemicals and water to help enhance the image.  Microscopes also began to be mass-produced, bringing their costs down.

The 20th century
The dawn of the 20th century brought on several changes in the microscope that significantly improved the microscope as it was known in the 19th century.  It didn’t take long before its use in bacteriology soon extended to medicine.  As better features were added, the microscope became the physician’s indispensable investigative tool.

The manipulation of light to reflect an image of the specimen had become more versatile and the use of electrons in microscopes to enhance resolution has also allowed unprecedented features in the modern physician microscope to create enhanced images, providing stunning visuals in 2D and 3D.  Where the first microscopes were only capable of less than 10X magnification, newer microscopes have become capable of reaching magnifications of up to 10,000X the actual size of the object.

Although microscopes were first used to observe bacteria and other organisms, they have since developed into the more sophisticated physician microscopy tools used today, whether the sample material is live and unstained or fixed with a staining agent.

Modern uses of physician microscopes
Depending on the requirement, physician microscopes have evolved in their uses, ranging from observation of specimens of varying sizes to analysis of sample tissues to cell manipulation to surgery.

Today, there are numerous physician microscopes to choose from, the most common of which is the simplest – the compound light microscope – which features high-powered magnification using brightfield illumination.  For larger specimens such as those used for dissection, a stereo microscope may also be used.  For viewing live biological specimens, physician microscopes using phase contrast microscopy techniques, allowing better view of specimens that would otherwise appear translucent using other microscopy techniques such as brightfield illumination.

For specimens that require live examination and analysis and where staining cannot be used, the darkfield microscopy technique may be utilized.  This is especially helpful for the examination of live blood cells where features need to be revealed in its natural, unstained state, something that cannot be observed using other types of physician microscopes.  Other physician microscopes, such as those that use electron technology, and scanning probe microscope may also be used, depending on the requirement.  It is also possible to use accessories to produce digital photographic images of a sample specimen.