Label the Parts of a Micropipette

All 9 parts on the diagram

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Plunger button Pressed with the thumb to draw liquid up and push it out. It stops twice: the first stop measures the volume, and the second, deeper stop blows out the last drop.
Tip ejector button Pressed to throw off the used tip. So you never have to touch it.
Volume knob Turned to set how much liquid the pipette takes up. One way for more and the other for less.
Volume display A window with three number wheels that shows the set volume. It is a counter, not a screen.
Body (grip) The handle you hold, with the volume display on its front.
Shaft The narrow tube below the body. The tip pushes onto its end, and the piston moves inside it.
Piston A metal or ceramic rod inside the shaft. It slides in an airtight sleeve. As it rises it pulls air out of the tip, and liquid follows.
Tip ejector (arm and collar) The arm and collar down the side of the shaft. Pressing the ejector button slides it down to push the tip off.
Disposable tip The plastic tip that holds the liquid. It is used once and thrown away, so the liquid never touches the pipette itself.

How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-27. (1) Wikipedia, Air displacement pipette, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_displacement_pipette : plunger button, tip ejector button, volume adjustment dial, digital volume indicator, shaft, attachment point for a disposable tip; a metal or ceramic piston in an airtight sleeve; the first and second (blowout) stops; the tip ejector button removes the tip without handling it. Its figure, Gilson schematic.svg (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gilson_schematic.svg), labels the button, plunger, tip ejector button, tip ejector arm, tip ejector collar, volume adjustment knob, digital volume indicator, body, shaft, piston assembly and tip. (2) Kelli Henry, How to Use a Micropipette, UCLA MCDB (2011), https://www.mcdb.ucla.edu/Research/Goldberg/HC70AL_Su14/pdf/How%20to%20Use%20a%20Micropipettor.pdf (archived 2016-08-20): the round button on the plunger, the window with three digits, the rings turned to set the volume, the grip, the discharge slider that throws off the tip, the two stopping points, the disposable tips. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site by script, 2026-09-27. Own work, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

Label the parts of a micropipette by number. 1 to 5 are on the handle, from the button on top down to the grip; 6 to 9 are on the narrow end below it, down to the tip.

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Micropipette word bank

In alphabetical order: body (grip), disposable tip, piston, plunger button, shaft, tip ejector (arm and collar), tip ejector button, volume display, volume knob.

Numbers that get swapped

Two buttons sit at the top: 1 is the one on the very top (plunger button), 2 the smaller one beside the ridged ring (tip ejector button). 2 is the button only: the arm it pushes, down the side of the narrow tube, is 8 (tip ejector). Two lines end on that tube: 7 on the rod seen through the cut-away (piston), 6 on the tube itself (shaft). 3 is the ridged ring (volume knob), 4 the small window in the handle (volume display).

When marking, volume adjustment dial is right on line 3, and digital volume indicator or volume window on line 4.
The thin stem under the plunger button and the liquid in the tip are drawn but carry no number.

Questions and answers

What is the difference between the plunger and the piston of a micropipette?

The plunger button is outside, on top, and is the part you press. The piston is inside the shaft: a metal or ceramic rod in an airtight sleeve, driven by the plunger. On the worksheet they are numbers 1 and 7.

Is the volume display on a micropipette digital?

It is often called the digital volume indicator, but digital here means that it shows digits. On a manual micropipette it is a dial display, and nothing in it is electronic.

What does the tip ejector do on a micropipette?

It takes the used tip off. Pressing the tip ejector button, number 2, moves the arm and collar, number 8, and the tip is cast off without being handled.

What are micropipette tips made of?

Plastic, in general polypropylene, and they are made to be used once. Most have a color code, and the pipette they fit carries the same color.

Why is it called an air displacement micropipette?

Because the piston moves air, not liquid. As the piston travels up it leaves a vacuum, air from the tip rises to fill it, and liquid is drawn up into the tip in its place.