Dennis Kunkel Microscopy, Inc.

Algae are aquatic photosynthetic organisms. Microscopic algae are a component of plankton. See - single celled (Euglena); diatom; dinoflagellate, toxic (Gambierdiscus); colonial (Volvox, Synura); and filamentous (Spirogyra, Zygnema).

Arachnids have chelicerae mouthparts. See dust mite (allergen), chigger, bird, Varroa bee, and rabbit ear mite. See a spider silk gland (spinneret), a garden and jumping spider and the brown recluse. The tick is an ectoparasite including deer, lone star, American and brown dog tick.

Bacteria have rod, coccoid and spiral shapes. Bacteria are associated with food poisoning (Salmonella, Clostridium); intestinal infection; (E.coli 0157); skin infection (Staphylococcus, Streptococcus) and oral infection (Porhyromonas). We have biomedical photos of antibiotic resistant forms (MRSA and VRE).

Crystals include microscopic details of: antibiotics (streptomycin, penicillin); drugs (aspirin, methamphetamine, caffeine, nicotine); vitamins, hormones (insulin, testosterone, progesterone, adrenalin); neurotransmitters (dopamine, GABA, serotonin); insecticides and herbicides (DDT, Diazinon, Malathion).

Fungi are heterotrophic and form either a single cell, or hyphae that are multicellular and/or filamentous (yeast, mushroom, mold). Allergenic mold and toxic mold cause human disease (asthma, lung infection, skin infection, and athlete's foot).

Insects (invertebrates) exist in most environments – see microscope photos of: bee, butterfly, beetle, wasp. Some insects are destructive pests: weevil, ant, louse, termite, cockroach – or are disease vectors: mosquito (malaria) and flea (plague).

Medical includes red blood cell, white blood cell, clot, T lymphocyte, platelet, heart muscle, capillary, small intestine, microvilli, liver cell, nose, lung, stem cell, tendon, muscle cell, skeletal muscle, kidney, collagen, neuron, neurotransmitter, human sperm, human egg, bone, hair, tooth, nucleus, mitochondria and other electron microscopy biomedical images.

Misc. Invertebrates are animals without spines. See mollusc (octopus, snail), worm, flatworm (tapeworm), roundworm, fluke, jellyfish. Cestodes and trematodes are parasites that carry disease. The nematode (Caenorhabditis) is a soil organism.

Misc. Vertebrates include: tadpole, frog skin, frog breathing spiracle, frog foot, fish skin, fish neuromast, fish sensory cell, shark skin (denticle); gecko (foot hairs); cat tongue (papillae, taste bud).

Miscellaneous includes natural and manmade objects. See watch cog, needle, razor blade, carbon nanotube, asbestos, dust, fabric, kitchen sponge, feather, pet dander, lichen, salt, sugar, cat hair, and sand.

Plants include trees, grasses, ferns, mosses. Leaf surfaces often have trichomes that protect the plant (lavender, nettle). Stomata in the leaf surface facilitate gas exchange. Cellulose in plant cell walls is used to produce paper. Other images include: seeds – germination and surfaces, root hairs, petals, and pollen.

Protozoa can be heterotrophic or autotrophic, are motile and single-celled. Paramecium is a ciliated protozoan. Plasmodium is a parasite (malaria). Trypanosoma (trypanosome) causes trypanosomiasis. Leishmania causes human disease (leishmaniasis). Other parasites include: Giardia, Entamoeba and Trichomonas. Enterocytozoon bieneusi causes intestinal infections in AIDS patients.

Viruses are submicroscopic particles that must use a host cell to replicate. A virus that infects a bacterium is a bacteriophage (T4, Listeria). Viruses cause human disease such as AIDS, herpes, influenza, hepatitis, small pox and the common cold. See also – polio, rotavirus, HIV, rhinovirus, tobacco mosaic, HTLV-1 and rhabdovirus.