A Nipkow spinning disk microscope is one type of Fluorescence Microscope. A Nipkow disk is a spinning disk with a series of equally distanced circular holes of equal diameter drilled in it. It was invented by Paul Nipkow in 1885. Applied to a Fluorescence Microscope, it allows the sample to be scanned with an array of light points transmitted through these holes, participating in some of the advantages of a Confocal Microscope. Spinning disk microscopes are very good for living samples because they are fast and have relatively low phototoxicity. For fixed samples, a point-scanning Confocal Microscope is, in some cases, a better solution.
A Yokogawa Disk is a Nipkow disk with an array of microlenses in (or right after) the holes used in many commercial spinning disk microscopes.