A microscopy technique that uses fluorescent labels to visualize specific components within specimens by exciting fluorophores with specific wavelengths of light and detecting their emission. It enables selective visualization of particular structures or molecules.
Combines 'fluorescence' from 'fluorspar' (the mineral where the phenomenon was first observed) and Latin 'fluere' (to flow), with 'microscopy.' The technique developed throughout the 20th century as fluorescent dyes and filters became more sophisticated.
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