[Modern electron microscopy methods in the study of ultrastructure and function of the terminal vascular system]

The present survey deals with the possibilities of electron microscopic methods, with the gain of information by its use and with its prospective significance in solving actual problems in the subject of microcirculation. The paper consists of the subsequent parts: 1. Fixation methods; 2. Topical methods for ultrastructural investigation of defined areas of the terminal vascular bed and the transmural ways of transport of molecules; 3. Freeze etching technics; 4. Electron microscopic autoradiography; 5. Transmission electron microscopy including methods for three-dimensional reconstruction of vascular segments; 6. Scanning electron microscopy; 7. X-ray microanalysis; 8. Demonstration of cell receptors with the aid of lectines; 9. Methods for quantitative analysis. In each chapter the possibilities and disadvantages of the methods and the most frequently occurring artefacts were dealt. The survey concludes with a consideration of the prospective development of electron microscopic technics and its use in the investigation of the terminal vascular bed. In the opinion of the authors the methodical development will take the subsequent direction: 1. Further completion of the preparative methods and its development to routine technics combined with the more general use of necessary tools; 2. Further completion and spreading of quantitative investigation methods; 3. More effective use of the synthetic analysis solving a problem, that means, the simultaneous application of different methods (for instance: transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, experimental methods and so on).