Tissue Microscope

Tissue culture microscopes are used to view live cells and tissue. Tissue and cells are typically placed in a petri dish on the microscope stage. The long working distance allows room for the petri dish, since the objective lenses are beneath the stage, rather than above it on an upright biological microscope. Tissue samples are often transparent or translucent, with very little or no color and therefore these cells are often best viewed with a phase contrast tissue culture microscope.

Phase contrast tissue culture microscopes provide a depth to the cells and as light passes through them more amplitude is applied to the image. This makes each cell appear more three dimensional. The light on a tissue culture microscope comes from above the sample and passes down through the tissue and then through the objective lens.