Amazing Photos Reveal What Tears Look Like Under a Microscope

In the same way that there are different reasons people cry, tears can vary too, something proven in this fascinating photo series by Maurice Mikkers. Gathering a group of friends together one evening he asked them to either cut onions, eat hot peppers, look into a fan or use emotions such as happiness or crying to produce tears. He then captured them and placed them onto a slide.

Once placed under a microscope their complexity was revealed. The three main types of tears are basal, reflex, and psychic. Basal tears lubricate the eye, reflex tears are triggered by irritants and psychic tears are formed through emotion. The photos below reveal a clear distinction between these three types and a level of detail to something so tiny that will leave you amazed.

View more of Mikker’s photography over at his website. For more info on this project visit here.

Basal Tear