Ultrastructural aspects of skin after cryoultramicrotomy

Skin was studied by transmission electron microscopy after cryoultramicrotomy. Global and ultrastructural preservation of the tissue was obtained with satisfactory cohesion between dermis and epidermis. The main constitutive elements could be observed with good definition allowing easy recognition of all the organelles and therefore absolute identification of each cellular type encountered. The methodology provided a comparable quality to the conventional technique. Ice crystal artefacts were minimized but slight enlargement of intercellular spaces persisted. One of the main advantages of this procedure is that neither lipidic solvents nor embedding resins, are used, so that one can envisage cytochemical studies.