Application of HVEM to Thick Sections of Diseased Human Kidney

Abstract

The high voltage transmission electron microscope (HVEM) offers the biologist a means of examining ultrastructure in thick (0.3 to 1.0μ) sections of conventionally enbedded biological material with good Z-axial resolution. The spatial distribution of structures throughout the depth of a specimen may be easily visualized by HVEM and the need for reconstruction from ultrathin serial sections avoided. Effective stereo pair micrographs allowing the 3-D relationships of organellae to be observed are also readily made.Our preliminary applications of HVEM in the examination of diseased human kidney were made in an effort to gather information on poorly understood renal pathologic changes. These changes include loss or alteration in size of glomerular epithelial and endothelial cells and their processes, changes in thickness or composition of glomerular basement membrane, the deposition of subepithelial or subendothelial electron-dense material, and the occurrence of round or microtubular virus-like particles and crystalline deposits.