optical imaging techniques are particularly attractive for visualizing tissue morphology, biological dynamics, and disease pathogenesis because they allow for noninvasive access to subcellular-resolution diagnostic information. optical coherence tomography (oct) is a novel imaging modality that allows for fast, noncontact, high-resolution volumetric imaging of weakly scattering tissue. two-photon microscopy (tpm) has advantages of high resolution, molecular-specificity, and improved imaging depth and contrast over conventional white-light and fluorescence microscopes, enabling endogenous and exogenous contrast imaging in both in vivo and ex vivo specimens. finally, functional optical imaging techniques, such as spectroscopy and doppler velocimetry, enhance optical contrast by detecting properties of tissues, such as oxygenation and blood flow, that are correlated with cellular metabolism and early indicators of disease.