ABSTRACT
In the late 1990s, with the increasing local and national pressure to replace traditional microscopy with digital photomicrographs and computers, we feared that a potential outcome would be the removal of microscopes from the medical curriculum. This was of concern because most computer programs for teaching microscopy were at that time limited to static images that did not allow students to explore the slide by panning and changing magnifications. However, in 1997-1998, the ability to create giant, high-resolution facsimiles of whole microscope sections and deliver them over the web was just emerging. It was apparent that these virtual slides, which can very closely emulate the panning and zooming features of a microscope, had the potential of maintaining many of the pedagogic advantages of traditional microscopy when compared to digital photomicrographs.
