The Virtual Microscope

	Palisade mesophyll is a tissue in leaves. The cells contain chloroplasts needed for photosynthesis.
	Ligustrum is the scientific name for privet. You should be able to see thick lines around the outside of the cells, these are the cell walls. The cell membranes are far too thin to bee seen with an ordinary light microscope. The nuclei are a bit blurred; they are a bit darker and redder than the rest of the cytoplasm. The chloroplasts are stained dark blue so you cannot see the colour of chlorophyll (green). The whiter "spaces" are vacuoles. You can also see some epidermal cells at the top of the slide. They are a different shape from the palisade cells and do not contain chloroplasts. This is a Virtual Microscope. Click the "Move" radio button to move the slide around the microscope stage and then click the "s" on your keyboard to stop moving it. You will need to reset the magnification to bring the slide back into view. You can select the magnification by clicking on one of the radio buttons on the right of the eyepiece.  This is a version 2 Virtual Microscope. Version 3 will allow you to alter the focus. Version 1 did not offer the option of moving the slide around the stage.
	This application requires Flash version 5 or later. Earlier versions will not allow you to alter the magnification.
	[ Virtual microscope: xylem and phloem ] [ Virtual microscope: palisade mesophyll cells ] [ Leaf Section ] [ Up ]

Last revised: 10 November 2006.