A microfluoroscope has a source of soft x-rays and a solid immersion lens including a plano surface. There is means for placing a sample in close proximity to the plano surface so that an x-ray absorption shadowgraph of the sample is projected onto the plano surface by the source of soft x-rays. A scintillator on the solid immersion lens plano surface produces fluorescent light from soft x-rays passing through the sample. An optical microscope is used for viewing through the solid immersion lens the fluorescent light from the scintillator corresponding to the x-ray absorption shadowgraph of the sample. A microfluoroscope is also disclosed which includes a source of soft x-rays, a fluorescent screen placed at a plane to receive x-rays and means for placing a sample in close proximity to the plane so that an x-ray absorption shadowgraph of the sample is projected onto the fluorescent screen. A nanochannel mask placed between the fluorescent screen and the sample for limiting x-rays reaching the fluorescent screen to a periodic matrix of nanochanneled beams. A computer system combines all the discrete images at each raster position into a composite image representing the x-ray absorption shadowgraph of the entire sample.