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15 Beautiful Microscopic Images from Inside the Human Body
Written by soniaydong 
Photo:
Image: David Gregory & Debbie Marshall, Wellcome Images
Get up close and personal with your innards with these 15 amazing 3D-body shots. Almost all of the following images were captured using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), a type of electron microscope that uses a beam of high-energy electrons to scan surfaces of images. The electron beam of the SEM interacts with atoms near or at the surface of the sample to be viewed, resulting in a very high-resolution, 3D-image. Magnification levels range from x 25 (about the same as a hand lens) to about x 250,000. Incredible details of 1 to 5 nm in size can be detected.
Max Knoll was the first person to create an SEM image of silicone steel in 1935; over the next 30 years, a number of scientists worked to further develop the instrument, and in 1965 the first SEM was delivered to DuPont by the Cambridge Instrument Company as the "Stereoscan."
Here you'll experience the power of SEM in a journey of self-discovery that starts in your head, travels down through the chest and ends in the bowels of the abdomen. Along the way, you'll see what's normal, what happens when cells are twisted by cancer and what it looks like when an egg meets sperm for the first time. You'll never see yourself the same way again.
1. Red blood cells
Photo:
Image: Annie Cavanagh, Wellcome Images
They look like little cinnamon candies here, but they're actually the most common type of blood cell in the human body - red blood cells (RBCs). These biconcave-shaped cells have the tall task of carrying oxygen to our entire body; in women there are about 4 to 5 million RBCs per microliter (cubic millimeter) of blood and about 5 to 6 million in men. People who live at higher altitudes have even more RBCs because of the low oxygen levels in their environment.
2. Split end of human hair
Photo:
Image: Liz Hirst, Wellcome Images
Regular trimmings to your hair and good conditioner should help to prevent this unsightly picture of a split end of a human hair.
3. Purkinje neurons
Photo:
Image: Annie Cavanagh, Wellcome Images
Of the 100 billion neurons in your brain, Purkinje neurons are some of the largest. Among other things, these cells are the masters of motor coordination in the cerebellar cortex. Toxic exposure such as alcohol and lithium, autoimmune diseases, genetic mutations including autism and neurodegenerative diseases can negatively affect human Purkinje cells.
4. Hair cell in the ear
Photo:
Image: Wellcome Photo Library, Wellcome Images
Here's what it looks like to see a close-up of human hair cell stereocilia inside the ear. These detect mechanical movement in response to sound vibrations.
5. Blood vessels emerging from the optic nerve
Photo:
Image: Freya Mowat, Wellcome Images
In this image, stained retinal blood vessels are shown to emerge from the black-coloured optic disc. The optic disc is a blind spot because no light receptor cells are present in this area of the retina where the optic nerve and retinal blood vessels leave the back of the eye.
6. Tongue with taste bud
Photo:
Image: David Gregory & Debbie Marshall, Wellcome Images
This colour-enhanced image depicts a taste bud on the tongue. The human tongue has about 10,000 taste buds that are involved with detecting salty, sour, bitter, sweet and savoury taste perceptions.
7. Tooth plaque
Photo:
Image: David Gregory & Debbie Marshall, Wellcome Images
Brush your teeth often because this is what the surface of a tooth with a form of "corn-on-the-cob" plaque looks like.
8. Blood clot
Photo:
Image: David Gregory & Debbie Marshall, Wellcome Images
Remember that picture of the nice, uniform shapes of red blood cells you just looked at? Well, here's what it looks like when those same cells get caught up in the sticky web of a blood clot. The cell in the middle is a white blood cell.
9. Alveoli in the lung
Photo:
Image: David Gregory & Debbie Marshall, Wellcome Images
This is what a colour-enhanced image of the inner surface of your lung looks like. The hollow cavities are alveoli; this is where gas exchange occurs with the blood.
10. Lung cancer cells
Photo:
Image: Anne Weston, Wellcome Images
This image of warped lung cancer cells is in stark contrast to the healthy lung in the previous picture.
11. Villi of small intestine
Photo:
Image: Professor Alan Boyde, Wellcome Images
Villi in the small intestine increase the surface area of the gut, which helps in the absorption of food. Look closely and you'll see some food stuck in one of the crevices.
12. Human egg with coronal cells
Photo:
Image: Yorgos Nikas, Wellcome Images
This image is of a purple, colour-enhanced human egg sitting on a pin. The egg is coated with the zona pellicuda, a glycoprotein that protects the egg but also helps to trap and bind sperm. Two coronal cells are attached to the zona pellicuda.
13. Sperm on the surface of a human egg
Photo:
Image: Yorgos Nikas, Wellcome Images
Here's a close-up of a number of sperm trying to fertilise an egg.
14. Human embryo and sperm
Photo:
Image: Dr. David Becker, Wellcome Images
It looks like the world at war, but it's actually five days after the fertilisation of an egg, with some remaining sperm cells still sticking around. This fluorescent image was captured using a confocal microscope. The embryo and sperm cell nuclei are stained purple while sperm tails are green. The blue areas are gap junctions, which form connections between the cells.
15. Coloured image of a 6 day old human embryo implanting
Photo:
Image: Yorgos Nikas, Wellcome Images
And the cycle of life begins again: this 6 day old human embryo is beginning to implant into the endometrium, the lining of the uterus.
All images are used under the Creative Commons license of Wellcome Images.
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Comments
Iyabo Asani (not verified) says:
Dec 21st, 2009 at 4pm
Wow! Absolutely amazing. So wonderful. Thank you so much for these images.
Patricia (not verified) says:
Aug 26th, 2009 at 8am
Omg this is the most scariest thing ive ever seen in my life!!!!! No joke!.....
Is this actually real???
Chaitz (not verified) says:
Mar 17th, 2009 at 6pm
They were amazing & interesting.
I liked 12.Human egg with coronal cells.
You guys are doing a wonderful job.
Patrick Smith (not verified) says:
Mar 17th, 2009 at 9pm
So beautiful, like life itself. Our bodies our such a wonderful biochemical system. Many thanks for allowing me the chance to contemplate the wonder of us all.
Faizan Mumtaz (not verified) says:
Mar 20th, 2009 at 5am
It really makes you reflect on the signs of God
-very inspiring, Thank You
soniaydong says:
Mar 20th, 2009 at 9pm
Thanks for all the comments!
@luke: thanks for catching the typo with the 2 #15s - it's been fixed.
asim (not verified) says:
Oct 25th, 2009 at 3pm
good pics. but how can i download it for my study.
TruthSeekr (not verified) says:
Oct 27th, 2009 at 10pm
Glory be to Allah!
Anyone who sees this, the great wonders of our body that The Creator has made for us, and given us...and that we as mortal being have absolutely no control over these incredible functions that work in perfect unison... and yet still fail to realize and acknowledge The Creator, is there a greater fool than that person??
zeeohsix (not verified) says:
Apr 17th, 2009 at 5am
they dont have it but the worst one would have to be a kidney stone.
a lot of SEM images show organic things are very irregular or ragged and not looking mechanical.
kidney stones being crytals looks like a ball of razor blades.
a knife edge under SEM does not look sharp and compared to a cell it's a large blunt surface. kidney stones look like they actually could cut cells.
jdm (not verified) says:
Mar 23rd, 2009 at 6pm
Great Images!! The picture 11 "Villi of small intestine" amazing!!!
Steve (not verified) says:
Jan 18th, 2010 at 5pm
"TruthSeekr Says:
October 27th, 2009 at 10:39 pm
Glory be to Allah!
Anyone who sees this, the great wonders of our body that The Creator has made for us, and given us…and that we as mortal being have absolutely no control over these incredible functions that work in perfect unison… and yet still fail to realize and acknowledge The Creator, is there a greater fool than that person??"
Yes - the greater fool is he who sees the wonders of nature and tries to attribute this *natural* miracle to a god who clearly doesn't exist.
The sooner people get over their irrational belief in god, the sooner we can all move on in peace.
Dr.Shantha, MD, PhD (not verified) says:
Jul 20th, 2009 at 5pm
The picures are beautiful. If you have olfactory mucosa, bladder lining, motor end plate, sensory end organs, lungs, nasal mucosa inner ear, love to see them
T R.Shantha, MD, PhD
Nobel Prize Nominee 2007
A Recovering Catholic (not verified) says:
Jul 26th, 2009 at 7pm
Amazing, especially the slit end. So much detail!
Super Pérolas (not verified) says:
Apr 22nd, 2009 at 4pm
Thats amazing!!
http://www.superperolas.com
trust lands (not verified) says:
May 18th, 2009 at 9pm
The blood clot really does look like a clot if that makes sense.
laxmi (not verified) says:
Feb 4th, 2010 at 4pm
Really beautiful, amazing
bio functions may be source of technical inventions.
but colors are not real i think
reed (not verified) says:
Feb 5th, 2010 at 9am
wow amazing, i feels like im in my own body and scrolling hehehe,
what a nice site here how can i joun to subcribe all of this? thank?
Amit (not verified) says:
Apr 27th, 2009 at 12pm
This is one of the most beautiful picture taken till date .
Excellent ,Amazing ..... Photograph without Boundary
sherri (not verified) says:
May 22nd, 2009 at 12pm
"so cool. I especially like the six day old human embryo because it already shows the head and arms developing. Even from the very beginning it is not a blob. It’s a life, albeit developing, full of potential and promise!"
at six days an embryo is a bunch of cells...identical, unspecialized cells...in this picture it's probably a structure called a morula...once again, a bunch of cells. it hasn't even started forming the embryonic layers that form specialized cells yet...hands and feet become apparant at 10weeks !?
but the pictures were really cool anyway
Richard (not verified) says:
Nov 26th, 2009 at 8pm
These are very nice pictures. I'm specially impressed that you were able to get an alveoli from a lung with cancer. Nice post.
Char (PSI Tutor:Mentor) (not verified) says:
Nov 29th, 2009 at 12am
that was amazingly wonderful~ thank you
jolinarodriguez (not verified) says:
Mar 12th, 2009 at 2pm
Wow amazing shoot.. Its capture the real meaning of life thanks for this post very informative and educational
violet crago (not verified) says:
Nov 30th, 2009 at 3pm
that was cool i think the tonge was the coolest looking one!!!!!
fan417 (not verified) says:
Aug 8th, 2009 at 1am
I am glad I click this link...
now I know what WE ALL
look like on the inside
of the "HUMAN BODY"!
Enplo (not verified) says:
Mar 12th, 2009 at 5pm
You forgot to add that the pictures were colored as SEM gives only black and white picture.
Saulo Silva (not verified) says:
Mar 12th, 2009 at 6pm
Very interesting photos. I particularly liked "8. Blood clot". The human body is indeed amazing.
Renu (not verified) says:
Aug 8th, 2009 at 12pm
really i am so much pleased to se all this images where so beautiful that
that i have ever seen.
imtiaz ahmed (not verified) says:
Dec 2nd, 2009 at 4pm
these are really good.i think it can't be colorful in human bieng
deZengo (not verified) says:
Apr 29th, 2009 at 4pm
Wow. There is no doubt in my mind that the last frontier is INWARD! Truly amazing. The detail, the beauty at microscopic levels.
Thanks for sharing.
alexis (not verified) says:
Sep 30th, 2009 at 4pm
these are great information and high tech. pictures.
Brady (not verified) says:
Mar 12th, 2009 at 6pm
WOW! That's so fascinating. Thank you for sharing these great images.
alexis (not verified) says:
Sep 30th, 2009 at 4pm
she dnt even no how to spell body girl yew need to do something bout dat
K (not verified) says:
Mar 12th, 2009 at 8pm
According to North Dakota, that last picture is considered child pornography
Rickidon Singh (not verified) says:
Mar 12th, 2009 at 9pm
Its truly marvelous to see such photography unfold before our very own eyes - Patients tend to be more aware and take better care of themselves and others when such visual aids are available.
Anthony Pittarelli (not verified) says:
Mar 12th, 2009 at 9pm
I feel sorry for the sperm.
Anthony Pitarelli
Tahad (not verified) says:
I would like to know how fast does a sperm cell travel to reach an egg, and how far does it travel to reach the egg. what is the comparison to an explosion, when the sperm impact the egg. Does the sperm hold electric impulse energy, and can be considered as an electrical current? Please someone answer these questions.