Dissecting Microscope Diagram – Labeled Stereo Microscope

All 14 parts on the diagram

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The whole microscope 11

Eyepieces One for each eye. They magnify the view.
Base The bottom of the microscope. The stage plate sits in it.
Arm It supports the body.
Body (head) It holds the lenses in line.
Focus knob Turn it until the specimen looks sharp.
Zoom knob It changes the magnification.
Stage plate The specimen sits on it.
Stage clips They hold a specimen still.
Top light (reflected light) It lights the specimen from above.
Bottom light (transmitted light) It shines up through a clear stage plate.
On/off switch It turns the lights on and off.

The head from the front 3

Objectives One for each eye. They magnify the specimen.
Eyepiece tubes Each one carries an eyepiece at its top.
Diopter ring Turn it to sharpen the view for one eye.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30 and kept only where at least two of these use it. (1) Using a Stereo Microscope, Module 22, Vocational Education Training in Environmental Health Sciences (a US government-funded course module, ERIC ED204581), full text at https://archive.org/details/ERIC_ED204581 : eyepieces, body, arm, objectives, power knob (selects the objective or zooms), focus adjustment knob, stage, light source that lights the stage from the top, understage light source, off/on switch, stage glass. (2) Wikipedia, Stereo microscope, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereo_microscope : eyepieces, objectives, zoom control, reflected and transmitted light, the names stereo, stereoscopic and dissecting microscope. (3) to (5) three makers' instruction manuals, names only, full texts at https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-5811384 (eyepieces, dioptre adjustment ring, microscope head and tube, focus dial, objective, reflected light illumination, on/off switch, stand base, pillar), https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-5642428 (eyepiece, diopter ring, eyepiece tube, zoom knob, body, focus knob, incident light, transmitted light, power switch, stage clip, stage plate, base, stand post) and https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-5681171 (eyepiece, eyepiece adjustable ring, magnification knob, optic main body, clip, stage plate, base, focusing knob, arm). Licence: own work

The drawing: Own drawing from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

The parts of a dissecting microscope on two drawings: the whole instrument on its base, then the head from the front. It is also called a stereo microscope, and the same names fit both.

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Two of everything you look through

Each eye has its own eyepiece and its own objective, so each eye sees the specimen from a slightly different angle. Together they give a view with depth.

Reading the stereo microscope diagram

The arm holds the body over the base. The focus knob brings the specimen into focus, and the zoom knob changes the magnification. The diopter ring sharpens the view for one eye.

It is a low-power microscope, so whole things fit in the view: a coin, a piece of cloth, a small insect.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a stereo microscope?

Two eyepieces on eyepiece tubes, a body with a zoom knob and two objectives under it, an arm with a focus knob, and a base with a stage plate, stage clips, a switch and one or two lights.

How is a dissecting microscope different from a compound microscope?

A dissecting microscope is made for low magnification and mostly uses light reflected from the top of a solid specimen. A compound microscope magnifies far more and sends its light through the specimen.

What does the diopter ring do?

It sharpens the view through one eyepiece without changing the other, so the microscope can be set to suit both of a person's eyes.

Why does a dissecting microscope have two lights?

The top light shows the surface of a solid specimen. The bottom light shines up through the stage plate for a specimen that lets light through. Not every dissecting microscope has both.