Electron microscopy: a brief history and review of current clinical application

Our plain-English summary of Electron microscopy: a brief history and review of current clinical application, by R.E. Gordon (Methods in Molecular Biology, 2014).

The study

• Author: R.E. Gordon
• Journal: Methods in Molecular Biology
• Published: 2014;1180:119-35
• Cited by: 17 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

This chapter describes the historic development of techniques that has made it possible to use electron microscopy, principally transmission electron microscopy, for diagnostic purposes. It was described how the standard techniques for preparing tissue for light microscopy had been modified to make it possible to view the ultrastructural components of a cell, tissue, or organ that cannot be resolved with a light microscope. There is a discussion of the types of tissues and cells that were and are currently observed by electron microscopy for diagnostic purposes. All of the materials that are used in tissue preparation and the general protocols for processing the tissues are also included. There are also notes which describe steps that can be changed or modified and why depending on conditions and anticipated outcome.

In plain English

This book chapter, by a single author, was a history and methods review of electron microscopy for medical diagnosis. It was not a study of patients or of asbestos exposure. It described how tissue preparation for light microscopy was adapted for the electron microscope, listed current diagnostic uses, and gave step-by-step laboratory protocols. Asbestos appeared in the section on lung and lymph node tissue. The author listed inhaled silica, talc or asbestos among possible causes of lung nodules or fibrosis. For cases where small amounts cannot be identified with polarized light microscopy, the author described "mineral burden analysis". In this process the tissue is dissolved in potassium hydroxide. The remaining inorganic particles are then counted and identified by their elements (energy dispersive spectroscopy). If the material is crystalline, it can also be classified by its crystal structure (selected area electron diffraction). A separate light-microscopy step looks for ferruginous bodies. The author noted that the osmium tetroxide step should be left out when doing elemental analysis, unless the elements sought are not near the osmium peaks. The author also wrote that electron microscopy has been used to identify and measure these minerals since the mid- to late-1970s.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Book chapter: brief history, review of current clinical uses, and laboratory methods protocols for diagnostic electron microscopy
• Who was studied: No study population; the chapter describes techniques, not a group of patients or workers
• Exposure: No exposure was studied. Asbestos is discussed only as one of the mineral materials that electron microscopy can identify in lung or lymph node tissue, alongside silica and talc
• Main results:
  • The author listed inhalation of silica, talc or asbestos among possible causes of lung nodules or fibrosis, along with autoimmune disease, idiopathic processes and biologic defects
  • When small amounts of material cannot be identified by polarized light microscopy, the author described an electron microscopy process called mineral burden analysis, in which the organic tissue is digested away
  • If the material is crystalline, such as talc, asbestos or silica, it can also be classified by its crystal structure using selected area electron diffraction (SAED)
  • In the protocol, minced tissue is digested in 5% potassium hydroxide (KOH) at 60 degrees C for 1 to 2 hours or until no tissue is visible
  • Part of the cleaned sample is cytocentrifuged onto a glass slide and examined by phase contrast light microscopy for ferruginous bodies
  • The osmium tetroxide preparation step should be removed when elemental analysis (EDS) is performed, unless the elements being looked for are not near the osmium peaks
  • The author stated that electron microscopy has been used to identify and measure amounts of these minerals since the mid- to late-1970s
• The authors' conclusion: The author wrote that electron microscopy has not become obsolete and has seen a rebirth in the last 10 or 15 years, mainly in research but increasingly in clinical settings

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM).

Related studies

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• An electron microscopy study of the effect of asbestos dust on the lung — J.M. Davis (1963)
• Electron microscopy remains the gold standard for the diagnosis of epithelial malignant mesothelioma: a case study — E.A. Oczypok, T.D. Oury (2015)
• The use of a new static device based on the collection of the thoracic fraction for the assessment of the airborne concentration of asbestos fibres by transmission electron microscopy — E. Kauffer, J.C. Vigneron, et al. (1996)
• The utility of electron microscopy in detecting asbestos fibers and particles in BALF in diffuse lung diseases — T. Kido, Y. Morimoto, et al. (2017)
• High-resolution electron microscopy of interlysosomal junctions — D. Beju (1988)

Browse more research in Methods in Molecular Biology, or return to medical research.