Varied light and scanning electron microscopic appearances of barium sulphate in smears and histological sections

The various light and scanning electron microscopic appearances of barium sulphate in smears and in histopathological lesions in sections are illustrated. One type of barium sulphate (E-Z-HD) includes much larger, bright birefringent particles and has very different appearances from other widely used types. Such larger particles in sections were not originally suspected to be barium sulphate and were identified only by energy dispersive x ray analysis in a scanning electron microscope. This form of barium sulphate is used for double contrast upper gastrointestinal radiography, and is not thought to have been responsible for the lesions in which it has been observed by us.