ABSTRACT
One o f t he mo st c ommon i maging app lications i n me dical diagnostics is the optical microscope. Optical imaging in general is one of the more accessible techniques compared to magnetic o r ele ctric i maging. O ther opt ical i maging te chniques besides the microscope include some specialized devices with near molecular resolution, whereas the light microscope is limited to cellular resolution. Before describing one of the highresolution ne ar- eld i maging me thods, na mely, ne ar- eld optical microscopy, the operation and limitations of the optical microscope will be discussed below.
