microscopy

/maɪˈkrɑskəpi/

Microscopy is the field of using a special instrument to observe things that are otherwise too small to see. If you yearn to study amoebas or bacteria up close, you'll want to pursue microscopy!

Microscopy is an area of scientific research that specializes in using microscopes. Both words are derived from the Greek roots mikros, "small," and skopein, "to examine." While microscopy is a technical field, if you make a habit of examining tiny things up close with the help of a microscope — drops of rainwater, an insect wing, your cat's fur — that's microscopy too.

Definitions of microscopy

1. noun

   research with the use of microscopes
   types:

   electron microscopy

   microscopy with the use of electron microscopes

   dark field illumination, dark ground illumination

   a form of microscopic examination of living material by scattered light; specimens appear luminous against a dark background

   fluorescence microscopy

   light microscopy in which the specimen is irradiated at wavelengths that excite fluorochromes

   indirect immunofluorescence

   a method of using fluorescence microscopy to detect the presence of an antigen indirectly

   type of:

   research

   systematic investigation to establish facts