A $32,000 electron microscope, capable of up to 2.5 million magnifications, has been added to the research facilities of the Louisiana State University School of Medicine.
Dr. Joseph H. Miller, associate professor of medical parasitology, said the microscope is located in a laboratory designed and constructed especially to house it.
The instrument, which is the fifth to be installed at the school, is used as a research and teaching tool for both undergraduate and graduate course levels in health sciences. Its purchase was made possible by a National Institutes of Health grant of $32,000 to LSU, and it will be used in the department of Tropical Medicine and Medical Parasitology.
Electron microscopes operate essentially as energized particles in a vacuum pass through ultra-thin sections of the specimen being studied and produce a magnified image on a viewing screen.
For permanent recording, specimen impressions can be enlarged photographically 10 times, producing micrographs for filing and future study.
