Before delving into the details of the different kinds of microscope slides, it is imperative for each observer to learn how to make one in the first place.  Be armed with the materials that are needed to set up a slide that would provide the best observation possible.  What are these materials?  The basic microscope slide can be prepared using glass slides, pipettes or droppers, cover slips and any stain or chemical (which would make the specimen more ‘observable’). Also, the prepared slide should have a brief description of the organism that is going to be observed under the microscope.  This helps to deter any instances when a slide is interchanged with one other different slide.

The two general kinds of microscope slides: the ordinary glass slide (flat) and the well or depression slide.  These two kinds are rectangular and are about 1 inch by 3 inches in measurement are both rectangular.  Well slides come with a central indentation which would hold liquid that would be dropped into it.  They usually do not come with cover slips.  Depression slides are more expensive than the flat type for the obvious reason that they use more materials and are more complicated to prepare.

The most ordinary type of prepared slide is the ‘wet mount’.  The wet mount uses a flat glass slide and also a cover slip.  A good slide preparation can be used for about 15-30 minutes before drying up (although the life of a wet mount can be extended).

There are so many types of prepared slides that can be bought in the market nowadays, most of them are available online.  As much as there are many branches of science to be studied, there too are as many prepared slides to be studied.  There are primed slide sets for zoological, botanical, biological, parasitological or histological uses.  There are also prepared slides for embryology, fungi study and the study of Protista or Monera, etc.

For botanical uses, examples of prepared slides could include:

1.    Mosses and algae
2.    Monocot leaves, flowers or roots
3.    Dicot stems, flowers, fruits, seeds or roots
4.    Wood
5.    Conifers
6.    Embryo of a pine seed
7.    Dicotyledon leaf
8.    Apex root tips
9.    Dicotyledon Stem
10.    Stems that are young or a year old
11.    Ferns

Prepared slides that are used in biology studies usually include the following:

1.    Amoeba proteus
2.    Allium root tip (onion)
3.    Roundworm (Ascaris) mitosis
4.    The three types of bacteria (spiral, rod, coccus)/smear
5.    Euglena
6.    Earthworm
7.    Smear of frog blood
8.    Ovary of a frog
9.    Sperm of frog
10.    Smear of human blood
11.    A section of human skin which comes with a follicle of hair
12.    Planaria or flatworms
13.    Ranunculus stems or roots

For prepared slides that are to be used in anatomy, the following are the most common preparations:

1.    A section of bone marrow
2.    Smear of human blood
3.    Ground human bone
4.    A section of human cerebrum
5.    A section of human liver
6.    A section human lung
7.    Human muscle (cardiac or striated)
8.    A section of salivary gland
9.    A section of human skin (comes with a follicle of hair)
10.    A section of sweat gland from human skin
11.    A smear of human sperm
12.    A section of human stomach
13.    A section of human testis
14.    A section of human tonsil

Perhaps, prepared slides for human diseases command the most attention for inspection.  Pathological slides should be prepared and studied with utmost care. Here are some examples:

1.    A smear of human blood with anemia
2.    A section of human lung with cancer cells
3.    A section of human capillary with tumor
4.    A section of human gall bladder with cholecystitis
5.    A section of human fibroma
6.    A section of human intestine with adenoma
7.    A section of human liver with cancer cells
8.    A section of tumor on human melanin
9.    A section of human kidney with pyelonephritis
10.     A section of human lung with tuberculosis

Taking a quick look at all the available prepared microscope slides that can now be readily bought, we come to appreciate the beauty of science and of life.  Glass slides may be very small but studying them properly would not only provide knowledge but also solutions to some human illnesses.  This only proves that even small things can help unfold great knowledge.