Silver-impregnation of the Golgi complex in epididymal epithelial cells of mice

Localization of silver grains detected by the silver-impregnation method, a technique used to detect the classical Golgi apparatus, was examined with light and electron microscopy. Two types of silvered images of the Golgi apparatus were compared; each was obtained by Da Fano 's silver-impregnation method, and one was modified with Caulfield 's fixative during the preliminary fixation. Under ordinary light microscopy the images were very similar and showed the duplex structure of the Golgi apparatus which consists of an argentophil wall and argentophobe core. With electron microscopy, the relationship between the fine structure of the Golgi complex and the silver deposits was obtained in greater detail by the latter technique because the fine structure of the Golgi complex was retained. Many fine silver grains were detected in the cytoplasm adjacent to the Golgi complex, but none were present in the Golgi cisternae. This suggests that the argentophil wall of the duplex structure of the classical Golgi apparatus may be formed from argentophil substances that locate in the cytoplasm adjacent to the Golgi lamellae, and that the argentophobe core may be related to the Golgi lamellae.