The goal of the article is to inculcate the appropriate handling and become familiar with the use of compound and dissecting light microscopes for biological examinations.
Microscope is one of the most essential instruments needed by the biologist and other science experts. There are numerous varied kinds of microscopes that operate on particular needs like the compound and dissecting light microscopes. A microscope should at all times be taken with both hands. Lift it up by the arm and hold up the base with the other hand. This sensitive tool can readily go out of alignment if it is handled improperly. The person is advised to carry only one microscope or lamp at a time to avoid the probability of being damaged.
Prior to its utilization, the microscope must be clean. Oil and mounting methods not thoroughly cleaned off can initiate operating and visual distortion difficulties. Clean the ocular lenses with a piece of lens paper. Check if all parts are present and functioning. Make sure all objectives are clean and can focus properly.

A light microscope has a white light source releasing rays that pass through the condenser lens to intensify the light and focus it on the sample. The specimen is placed on a slide, which is located on the stage of the microscope. The light travels through the specimen into the objective lens in which the specimen image is magnified. The light remains up through the body tube and reaches the ocular lens in which once again the image is magnified. Identify what magnifications are there on the objective lenses of the microscope.

The compound and dissecting microscopes have the means for adjustment of interpupillary distance or interocular scale adjustment to suit the eye spacing of the observer. View through the eyepieces with both eyes and with one hand on the exterior of every eyepiece, push or pull the eyepiece tubes until the fields of vision becomes one. If there are two fields, regulate the eyepieces until one field is seen.  Remember the number on the interocular scale for future use. It frequently takes several practices to regulate the microscope so that it becomes comfortable to be operated on for both eyes when focusing through the microscope. It is worth the effort since it will lessen eyestrain and enable the observer to focus on the observations for longer time.
It is oftentimes required to regulate the two eyepieces to contain various focusing abilities between the two eyes of the observer. The observer must view the specimen with his or her right eye through the right eyepiece and adjust to focus the specimen with the coarse adjustment knob and then with the fine adjustment knob. Then, without turning the head, watch the specimen with left eye through the left eyepiece and adjust to focus the specimen by rotating the diopter adjustment ring located on the eyepiece itself, without moving the coarse and fine adjustment knobs. Practice may be required to acquire the most excellent focus possible.

The dissecting microscopes commonly utilize reflected light, bouncing off the surface of the specimen before contacting the eyes. It also permits the viewer to recognize depth because the two eyes view the specimen through different lenses. The magnification of the dissecting microscope is not as remarkable as the compound microscope. Nevertheless it enables the observer to view large specimens at a magnification of up to thirty times.
Proper adjustments of interocular scale or interpupillary distance and diopter adjustment ring will attain the identical state of focus in the left and right eyepieces on the dissecting microscope just as they did for the compound scope. The diopter ring can be situated under or below the ocular lenses and the interocular scale can be situated on top of the head under the ocular lenses.
As with the compound microscopes, every time the dissecting microscopes are being utilized the observer should check for loose or injured structures, clean the lenses and contact the proper technician if problems are encountered.