This Is What Part Of Human Body Looks Like Under A Microscope

It was taken from Colin Salter’s new book, Science is Beautiful (Batsford, 2015), his book shows us some amazing images of the human body under a microscope:

1. Human inner ear

This is a balancing stone from our inner ear. The stones are attached to sensory hairs that are sensitive to gravity and acceleration. When we tilt our head the hairs send nerve impulses to our brain so that we can stay balanced.

2. Bacteriophage

Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria. The orange spider-looking thing is a bacteriophage that has just injected its viral DNA into an E. coli bacterium.

3. Serotonin

Ninety percent of the serotonin in our body is found in our gut. Seratonin is often called the “happy hormone”, but actually it is a lot more complicated than that. It also plays a part in memory, learning, mood, appetite and also  sleep.

4. Insulin Crystals

Insulin is produced in the pancreas, and its function is to regulate blood sugar levels.

5. Melatonin

When it gets dark, your eyes send messages to a gland that produces melatonin – a hormone linked to sleep.

6. Fat cells that have been emptied

The thick layer of fat under our skin cushions us and stores energy. In this picture, the fat deposits of the cells have been removed.

7. Cells of our lung

Nuclei, which contain the cell’s genetic information, appear blue. Mitochondria, which generate energy for the cell, are yellow.

8. Human Skin

The outer layer of the skin, the epidermis (top half of this image) consists of dead cells that are constantly sloughed off and replaced from below. The yellow things are a protein called keratin which makes the skin waterproof and strong, so that our organs inside don’t get damaged. The black things are hair follicles.

9. Adrenaline crystals

We always have small amounts of adrenaline in our blood, but when we’re stressed we get more.

10. Bone marrow making blood

Stem cells in bone marrow divide and transform into blood cells. This process is constantly happening because blood cells don’t live for a very long time.