Microscopic Images

Alveoli in the lung

This is what a colour-enhanced image of the inner surface of your lung looks like. The hollow cavities are alveoli; this is where gas exchange occurs with the blood.

 red blood cells

They look like little cinnamon candies here, but they’re actually the most common type of blood cell in the human body – red blood cells (RBCs). These biconcave-shaped cells have the tall task of carrying oxygen to our entire body; in women there are about 4 to 5 million RBCs per microliter (cubic millimeter) of blood and about 5 to 6 million in men. People who live at higher altitudes have even more RBCs because of the low oxygen levels in their environment.

sperm on the surface of a human egg

Here’s a close-up of a number of sperm trying to fertilise an egg.

split end of human hair

Regular trimmings to your hair and good conditioner should help to prevent this unsightly picture of a split end of a human hair.

tongue with taste bud

This colour-enhanced image depicts a taste bud on the tongue. The human tongue has about 10,000 taste buds that are involved with detecting salty, sour, bitter, sweet and savoury taste perceptions.

tooth plaque

Brush your teeth often because this is what the surface of a tooth with a form of “corn-on-the-cob” plaque looks like.

villi of small intestine

Villi in the small intestine increase the surface area of the gut, which helps in the absorption of food. Look closely and you’ll see some food stuck in one of the crevices.

Cancer Cell

Myelinated nerve fibres
, coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM). The myelin sheath is grey, the axoplasm pink and the endoneurium (connective tissue) yellow. Magnification: x650 when printed at 10 centimetres wide.

Retina.

 Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of rods (yellow) and cones (green) in the retina of the eye. The outer nuclear layer is purple. Magnification x1800 when printed at 10 centimetres wide.

Sperm cell.
 Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a sperm cell in a fallopian tube. Magnification: x400 when printed at 10 centimetres wide.

blood clot

Remember that picture of the nice, uniform shapes of red blood cells you just looked at? Well, here’s what it looks like when those same cells get caught up in the sticky web of a blood clot. The cell in the middle is a white blood cell.

Cervical cancer cell. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a dividing cervical cancer cell. The cell has a characteristically irregular surface with many cytoplasmic projections, which allows it to be motile. The cervix is the neck of the uterus or womb. Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers affecting women. It can take years to develop but can spread rapidly to nearby tissues and other organs. In the later stages, symptoms include vaginal discharge, bleeding and pelvic pain. Advanced forms of cervical cancer may be treated by surgical removal of the uterus and the ovaries. Magnification unknown.

Stomach lining.

 Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of the inner lining of the stomach (gastric mucosa). The large folds are known as rugae, and are present when the stomach is empty and contracted, but flatten out when full. The small indents are gastric pits. These contain cells that secrete enzymes, mucous and hydrochloric acid into the stomach. Magnification: x10 when printed 10 centimetres wide.

Bone tissue. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of cancellous (spongy) bone. This tissue, found in the interior of bones, is characterised by a honeycomb arrangement of trabeculae (columns) and spaces. This honeycomb structure provides support and strength to the bone.

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs),
 coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM). ESCs are pluripotent, that is they are able to differentiate into any cell type. The type of cell they mature into depends upon the biochemical signals received by the immature cells. This ability makes ESCs a potential source of cells to repair damaged tissue in diseases such as Parkinson's and insulin-dependent diabetes. However, research using ESCs is controversial as it requires the destruction of an embryo. Magnification: x3000 when printed at 10 centimetres wide.

Blood clot. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of red blood cells (erythrocytes, red) clumped together with fibrin (brown) to form a blood clot. Magnification: x5000 when printed 10 centimetres wide.

Sarcoptic mange mites eggs, coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM). This burrowing mite causes the skin disease scabies. Magnification: x200 when printed at 10 centimetres wide.

blood vessels emerging from the optic nerve

In this image, stained retinal blood vessels are shown to emerge from the black-coloured optic disc. The optic disc is a blind spot because no light receptor cells are present in this area of the retina where the optic nerve and retinal blood vessels leave the back of the eye.

colored image of a 6 day old human embryo implanting

And the cycle of life begins again: this 6 day old human embryo is beginning to implant into the endometrium, the lining of the uterus.

hair cell in the ear

Here’s what it looks like to see a close-up of human hair cell stereocilia inside the ear. These detect mechanical movement in response to sound vibrations.

human egg with coronal cells

This image is of a purple, colour-enhanced human egg sitting on a pin. The egg is coated with the zona pellicuda, a glycoprotein that protects the egg but also helps to trap and bind sperm. Two coronal cells are attached to the zona pellicuda.

human embryo and sperm

It looks like the world at war, but it’s actually five days after the fertilization of an egg, with some remaining sperm cells still sticking around. This fluorescent image was captured using a confocal microscope. The embryo and sperm cell nuclei are stained purple while sperm tails are green. The blue areas are gap junctions, which form connections between the cells.

lung cancer cells

This image of warped lung cancer cells is in stark contrast to the healthy lung in the previous picture.

purkinje neurons

Of the 100 billion neurons in your brain, Purkinje neurons are some of the largest. Among other things, these cells are the masters of motor coordination in the cerebellar cortex. Toxic exposure such as alcohol and lithium, autoimmune diseases, genetic mutations including autism and neuro degenerative diseases can negatively affect human Purkinje cells.