Abstract: A confocal microscope has an illumination beam path of a light source, a detection beam path of a detector, a scanning device, optics combining and separating the illumination beam path and detection beam path, and an objective, in which both an incident specimen illumination and a transmitted specimen illumination are possible. The confocal microscope according to the present invention is characterized in that in order to switch over from an incident specimen illumination occurring through the objective to a transmitted specimen illumination occurring toward the objective, beam deflection optics and optionally beam-shaping optics can be introduced on the side of the specimen plane facing away from the objective.