Microphthalmia
An abnormally small eye. Microphthalmia is a congenital malformation of the globe, a birth defect of the eye. A related term, anophthalmia, indicates that there is no eye at all. Also known as microphthalmos.
Read Also:
- Microphthalmia syndrome, Lenz
Lenz microphthalmia syndrome.
- Microscope
An optical instrument that augments the power of the eye to see small objects. The name microscope was coined by Johannes Faber (1574-1629) who in 1628 borrowed from the Greek to combined micro-, small with skopein, to view. Although the first microscopes were simple microscopes, most (if not all) optical microscopes today are compound microscopes.
- Microscope, compound
A microscope that consists of two microscopes in series, the first serving as the ocular lens (close to the eye), and the second serving as the objective lens (close to the object to be viewed).
- Microscope, electron
A microscope in which an electron beam replaces light to form the image. Electron microscopy (EM) has both pluses (greater magnification and resolution than optical microscopes) and minuses (the observer is not really ‘seeing’ objects, but rather their electron densities, so artifacts may be present).
- Microscope, fluorescent
A microscope that is equipped to examine material that fluoresces under ultraviolet (UV) light.