The inverted microscope, like the conventional microscope, magnifies small objects that are usually invisible or too small to be appreciated by the naked eye. However, the inverted microscope has several important and distinct differences from the light microscope. While a light microscope allows the biologist to view specimens alive, the span of time over which it can be observed is very limited, only a snapshot in the life of the organism, so to speak. It does not allow continued viewing much less observe the life nor the behavior of the organism. This is due to the preparations of the specimens for visualization by light microscopy—staining may dehydrate and poison the organism, while sectioning it or slicing it to bits will obviously kill it. So biological processes can no longer be carried out, much less observed and recorded. Even for wet mounts where no staining no sectioning is done, the slide upon which the specimen is mounted dries up easily. The addition of a cover slip to enhance viewing under the objectives changes the pressure and alters the environment of the organism drastically making sustained life under those conditions impossible. Even with modified preparations like the hanging drop method, where the specimen is placed in a deep well slide with a drop of water.

This method prevents pressure build-up but the oxygen exchange and nutrients are still limited, also the time upon which the specimen can be observed runs out when the water on the slide dries. Hence, the entire spectrum of the organisms activities cannot be fully observed. The inverted microscope solves this problem by allowing the entire environment upon which the organism resides onto the microscope stage. Water from a pond and all the organisms therein, for example, may be examined for hours and even days on end because the beaker or Petri dish upon which it is contained can be accommodated by the stage. So without the stresses and changes previously encountered after the preparation of the specimen in conventional light microscopy the organisms may still go about their daily activities and even their entire lifespan. So observation is not merely a snapshot in time but a movie in real-time that can be enjoyed continually.

Another important advantage of inverted microscopy over conventional microscopy is the ease at which organisms can be viewed. The set-up does not necessitate the preparation of the organisms, staining them or even having them sectioned. They can come as they are, so to speak. In vitro fertilization laboratories currently employ the use of inverted microscopes in assisted fertilization. The genesis of an individual from two separate cells—the sperm and the egg—is chronicled. So the entire process is observed and supervised, from the time the sperm and the egg are allowed to meet, to the cellular divisions they undergo until the embryo grows enough to be implanted into its mother’s uterus. From pond scum to the creation of human beings, the inverted microscope has come to be a tool of importance because it provides the researcher with the ease at which a specimen can be readily viewed and the luxury of viewing it over a length of time while maintaining the specimen in its natural state.