The Nikon MicroscopyU Digital Eclipse image gallery features photomicrographs captured digitally using the DXM 1200 camera system coupled to a variety of Nikon microscopes. We hope you enjoy your visit!

Algae Spiral Chloroplasts - Members of the Kingdom Protista, algae are most common in aquatic habitats, but occur in nearly every environment.

Chaos carolinensis (Amoeba) - Amoebas are primitive organisms characterized by their flowing movements, considered to be the most primitive form of animal locomotion.

Bordered Pits - These structures, found in the tracheid cells of plants, allow fluids to pass from one cell to another.

Bovine Pulmonary Artery - The pulmonary artery plays a crucial role in circulation, pumping oxygen-depleted blood from the heart to the lungs.

Chironomid (Midge) Larva - Non-biting midges are one of the most diverse and widespread dipteran groups known and spend part of their lives as aquatic larvae.

Chironomid Larva Blood Vessels - Insects, such as the non-biting midges, have few blood vessels, having an open circulatory system in which blood is contained by the body cavity instead of arteries and veins.

Collotheca Rotifer - This flower-like rotifer is sessile, living in a gelatinous tube and emerging to feed, using long cilia to sweep food into its mouth.

Corn Kernel - Corn is the common name for the cereal grass, native to the Americas, widely grown as food for humans and animals.

Culex (Mosquito) Antennae - Never one to bite people or animals, the male mosquito uses his large bushy antennae to listen for a buzz of a potential mate.

Diatom Frustules - Diatoms have a silicified cell wall that forms a pillbox-like shell (frustule) composed of overlapping halves. These frustules contain intricate and delicate markings useful in testing the resolving power of microscope lenses.

Dinosaur Bone - The bones of these ancient reptiles have been a source of fascination since they were first discovered during the 1820s.

Dogfish Shark Placoid Scale - Sharks are covered with placoid scales, bony, spiny projections with an enamel-like covering. Also called dermal denticles, these scales have the same structure as shark teeth.

Down Feather - Down feathers, located underneath the outer contour feathers, provide insulation for birds and can be removed to provide insulation for people as well.

Elderberry Lenticel - Elderberry bushes can be found in most forested temperate or subtropical areas around the world and are commonly cultivated as ornamental bushes and for their fruit.

Ephedrine Crystallites - A bronchodilator used to treat asthma, ephedrine is derived from any of several species of evergreen shrub belonging to the genus Ephedra.

Fern Sori - Many ferns produce clusters of spore cases called sporangia, or sori, which appear as brown spots on specialized leaves. When the sori dry out, they break open, releasing the spores.

Flea Hairs - These blood-sucking insects can be found worldwide, from the Arctic to the tropics. Some species have special bristle-like hairs that help them move through an animal's fur.

Ginkgo Leaf - The ginkgo is an ancient deciduous gymnosperm, related to pine trees and cycads, that probably would have gone extinct had it not gained widespread popularity as an ornamental plant over the past thousand years.

Glutaric Acid Crystallites - Glutaric acid is a by-product of amino acid metabolism. In humans, a devastating genetic disorder called Glutaric Aciduria causes a build-up of glutaric acid in the blood.

Herbaceous Stem - The stems of herbaceous plants are soft and flexible and are found typically on annuals, plants that grow for only one season.

Hydroxymethyl Pyrone Crystallites - This compound, also known as kojic acid, is a metabolite of the koji mold Aspergillus oryzae, a fungus used in the production of sake. Kojic acid has numerous food and medical applications.

Lecane Rotifer - Rotifers of this genus have a shell called a lorica which is often ornamented with ridges and folds, important characteristics in identifying species.

Lily Seed Embryos - The name "lily" is applied to nearly 100 species of herbaceous flowering plants commonly found in the temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere.

Moon Rock - Retrieved from the lunar surface by US astronauts between 1969 and 1972, moon rocks have shown that Earth's satellite is far more complex than previously thought.

Moth Wing - The wings of butterflies and moths are covered with microscopic scales that aid these insects in flight, waterproofing, and coloring.

Mouse Kidney - Mouse kidneys are similar to human kidneys, which is why they are often used to simulate human kidneys in scientific studies.

Mouse Intestine - Mouse intestines are useful for digesting a wide variety of foods, such as grains, roots, fruits, insects, grass, and -- for sophisticated city mice -- the occasional discarded french fry.

Oleander Leaf - Oleander is a beautiful, but extremely deadly evergreen that is widely cultivated as an ornamental shrub.

Pectinatella (Jelly Blob) - These freshwater bryozoans live in colonies embedded in a protective matrix of thick gelatinous goo.

Philodina Rotifer - This bdelloid rotifer moves in two modes, free-swimming and inchworm-like movements along surfaces. Males have never been observed.

Pine Needle - Pines are gymnosperms, non-flowering plants that produce naked seeds not enclosed in an ovary. When harvested, they provide materials like lumber, turpentine, paper, fuel and even food (pine nuts).

Plasmodesmata - Plasmodesmata are small tubes that connect plant cells to each other, providing living bridges between cells.

Smilax Root - For centuries the root of this large woody vine has been used for medicinal purposes by the indigenous peoples of Central and South America.

Spiderwort Leaf - These herbaceous plants are named for the gooey, stringy sap they produce, which also inspired the less elegant name, "cow slobber."

Squash Bug - Anasa tristis, better known as the squash bug, is an insect pest of cucurbits, agricultural plants such as pumpkins, squash, cucumbers, and melons.

Sulfosalicylic Acid Crystallites - This aromatic compound is a trifunctional aromatic compound that has a number of medical and industrial uses.

Vitamin C Crystallites - Ascorbic acid is an essential vitamin, commonly found in fruits and vegetables, that functions as a powerful antioxidant.

Vorticella - These bell-shaped ciliates live in fresh or salt water attached by a slender stalk to aquatic plants, surface scum, submerged objects, or aquatic animals.

Young Starfish - Starfish, or sea stars, are perhaps one of the most familiar of marine organisms, occurring in all the Earth's oceans but never in freshwater.

Zamia Ovule - The Zamia genus belongs to the Cycadophyta division of gymnosperms, an ancient lineage of plants that preceded the flowering plants.