Ultrastructural study of calcium-containing precipitation in human parathyroid glands

Using the potassium pyroantimonate technique for ultrastructural localization of cations and X-ray elemental analysis with both energy dispersive and wave-length dispersive systems, calcium-containing precipitates were found in normal, hyperplastic and adenomatous human parathyroid glands. Differences were observed between oxyphil cells, and suppressed, stimulated and active chief cells in the content and localization of intracellular precipitation. The oxyphil cells and suppressed chief cells possessed precipitates mainly in nuclei and medium-sized and large mitochondria, whereas the stimulated chief cells possessed precipitates in normal-appearing and morphologically altered mitochondria, and in smooth-surfaced vacuoles and cytosol. The active chief cells usually showed a rather sparse precipitation.