Abstract
The epiphyseal plate and adjacent spongiosa of young rats were prepared for electron microscopy by freezing and drying, followed by post-fixation and staining. Cartilage cells fill their lacunae and extend delicate processes into the matrix. Their protoplasm contains numerous submicroscopic vacuoles. Changes in cartilage cells during maturation are described. The structure of cartilage matrix is interpreted as consisting of two components, the denser interrupting the homogeneous one, which is Hotchkiss-positive. Osteoblasts and osteocytes contain ribonuclease-sensitive granules associated with the walls of the cytoplasmic submicroscopic vacuoles. There is osteoid between the closely-packed collagen fibrils of bone and the osteoblasts. Somewhat removed from the latter, collagen fibrils seem to arise in a close-meshed network of non-striated elements. The deposition and resorption of the mineral crystals in cartilage are described. Changes in the cells and matrix of cartilage after fixation in aqueous osmium tetroxide are also described.
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