Introduction

Abstract

The term micromanipulation is used to include all operations performed in the microscopic field of vision with the aid of mechanical devices which guide the operating tools proper. The use of a microscope implies an optical magnification of object and tool points of at least ten diameters. The tool that actually contacts the object of interest is held by some device which aids the hand of the experimenter in performing the required task. The device may merely steady or guide the motions produced directly by the hand which grasps the handle of the tool, a principle used in simple manipulating devices, partly utilizing the motions provided by the microscope itself, as well as in gliding manipulators for medium to high magnifications. More often, the tool is held by the arm of a complicated mechanism which translates the orders imparted by the hand to a milled head, a lever, or a joy stick.