A fast method for processing biologic material for electron microscopic diagnosis in infectious disease.

A fast method for processing biologic material for electron microscopy for precise and specific diagnosis of infectious agents is an increasing necessity. After different, reportedly fast methods were tested, a useful and quick technique was developed that provides well-preserved cellular structures, enabling the etiologic diagnosis of infectious agents even in necrotic tissue or other biologic material such as sputum, bronchoalveolar lavage, and the like. This procedure takes less than 3 hours.

Baseline volume data of human liver parenchymal cell.

Normal human liver fragments obtained through intra surgical needle biopsies from five selected hospital cases were fixed in glutaraldehyde and subsequently in osmium tetroxide and embedded in Araldite. These samples were studied in semithin sections under light microscopy. Stereological methods applied on photomicrographs were used to estimate the hepatocyte nuclear volume, the nuclear and cytoplasmic volume densities as well as the hepatocyte numerical density in the liver intermediate lobular zone.

Liver parenchymal cell parasitism in human visceral leishmaniasis.

Liver parenchymal cell parasitism with the amastigotes form of L. donovani was detected by electron microscopy in human visceral leishmaniasis. Endocytosis was considered to be the mechanism by which the leishmania entered the cell.