Amoebae are single celled animals of Kingdom Protista. They can move in water, engulf other protists such as Tetrahymena, and provide you a good glimpse into the inner life of a cell if you have a good microscope. Today, scientists examining amoebae prefer to use the digital high power microscope. This is for two primary reasons. The first is that a digital high power microscope can allow scientists to take pictures of the amoebae using a digital camera; a digital high power microscope can also allow scientists to take moving images of amoebae using the right digital camera mode, which can be critical for studying how live amoebae behave in culture.

Another reason is that a digital high power microscope offers high power and magnification, and it can work even with live specimens in liquid cultures. High magnification means better visualization of cellular structures that are important to understanding how amoebae live and survive. For instance, the minute hairs on the surface of an amoeba allow it to move around and adhere to surfaces better. Such structures will not be visible at low magnification, and they can be amazing to see under high magnification.

How are amoebae viewed under a microscope? Because amoebae live primarily in water, they are first cultured in a nutrient medium in a culture dish. It is this culture dish filled with living amoeba that is placed under the lenses of a microscope. However, if a scientist is interested in viewing the amoeba’s subcellular structures without looking at how the amoeba moves, then amoebae may also be placed on slides and viewed, still using the digital high power microscope.

What are the notable features of amoebae? The cell membrane, which keeps the inner region of the amoeba protected from the surrounding medium, is most visible in low or angled illumination. The cytoplasm of amoebae is also highly granulated, or has spots or smaller structures that you can see under the microscope. In some cases, an amoeba will have a vacuole, or a clear cellular space. It will have smaller cellular spaces called vesicles, which the amoeba uses to release waste products. If you see darker spaces, these may be vacuoles that hold the still undigested food of the amoeba.

Pseudopodia, or projections, are false feet that appear like fingers coming out of the cellular membrane of the amoeba. These false feet allow amoebae to engulf food, trap food, or simply to move around. Not all species of amoebae, however, form pseudopodia, and will instead move as an entire cell through the medium. Some amoebae also float around in culture instead of actively forming false feet and adhering to surfaces.

You can also clearly see the nucleus of the amoebae in culture. You can also see other cellular structures in detail, and especially if you use a digital high power microscope to view the amoebae. However, the mitochondria and smaller cellular organelles can be viewed only with an electron microscope. Such a procedure requires that you fix the specimen and therefore kill it, which is not advisable if you need to view live specimens.

The electron microscope, despite the disadvantage of having to work with dead and fixed specimens, can still show even more details of amoebae. Using an electron microscope, you can view the cellular membrane in greater detail; some amoeba species have scales on their membrane surface, making for interesting study using the power of the electron microscope. The electron microscope can also be suitable for studies of mitochondria and Golgi apparatuses of amoebae.

If you are primarily concerned with the overall appearance of the amoeba itself, or if you are simply using your microscope to detect and diagnose amoeba-caused diseases, then a digital high power microscope can help you better. Specimens do not have to undergo a rigorous preparation procedure, and you can better make a diagnosis if you are sure that the patient has live amoeba. Amoeba species can also be distinguished by their appearance as live microorganisms, so a digital high power microscope can allow you to identify certain species better. This way, you not only make a more accurate diagnosis, but know what medications should be given as well.

For more information on the digital high power microscope and other specimens that you can view with it, visit http://www.digitalhighpowermicroscope.com. Digital high power microscopes can be expensive and difficult to maintain, but if you exercise the right care and maintenance procedures, you can make your digital high power microscope last for a much longer time. All you need to do is read more about your digital high power microscope and how it should be used, and you can have your digital high power microscope in great condition for a lifetime.