The most striking visual element of the microscope is the "arm," the mechanism that stretches from the base of the microscope to the top, holding the device together. On some microscopes, the arm can be adjusted to provide an alternative angle or position for viewing the item being examined in the microscope. The height and length of the arm will differ among microscopes, depending on the size of the microscopes and the size of the items they are designed to view.
The body tube is the part of the microscope that holds the lenses in the correct place and ensures they are the right distance for the level of magnification required. This distance can be adjusted if more or less magnification is required, using either the "course adjustment" or "fine adjustment" knobs. The course adjustment knob will allow the distance to be moved greatly, whilst the fine adjustment knob allows for the distance and focus to be fine-tuned to optimize the magnification.
These are the lenses that allow the item in the microscope to be viewed effectively. There are usually two objectives on most basic microscopes -- the low-powered objective and the high-powered objective. The low-powered objective usually contains a lens of 10x magnification, although this can vary slightly from device to device. It is used for viewing larger items and items that do not have to be viewed in such great detail. The high-powered device tends to be either 43x or 45x magnification, meaning it can be used to view minute items in great detail.
The "stage" is where the microscope slide containing the item is placed for viewing. It is a small platform located directly below the lenses and has a small hole in the middle to allow the light to reflect through the item to magnify it. On many microscopes the stage can be moved up and down, altering the focus and magnification by changing the distance between the item being viewed and the lenses.