Wave-length dispersive microprobe analysis of coated samples of bulk tissues.

Hypertrophic scars contain highly pleomorphic cells, including many from the erythrocytic series which have been extravasated. The conventional visual mode of SEM cannot distinguish the cell types with certainty except in the case of typical biconcave disc-shaped erythrocytes. Microprobe elemental analysis might be used to differentiate one type from another on the basis of iron and possibly phosphorus (for nucleated cells).