Abstract
A morphological approach to cell dynamics is usually difficult, since routine preparative techniques for electron microscopy always induce artefacts due to cessation of blood supply into organs. The in vivo cryotechnique followed by the freeze-substitution method reduces such technical problems. It was applied for examining the pulmonary alveoli of BALB/c mice in vivo. The following ultrastructural features were revealed. (1) A surfactant layer provided a continuous covering to the alveolar epithelium. (2) Typical lamellar structures in large alveolar epithelial cells were rarely detected. (3) Circulating erythrocytes with various shapes were observed in branching blood capillaries. (4) The close association between erythrocytes and the endothelium was seen at the peripheral alveolar septum. Such ultrastructural arrangements may be appropriate for the physiological functions of the pulmonary alveoli, such as exchanges of gases or materials in vivo.
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Ohno, S., Terada, N., Fujii, Y. (2016). Dynamic Ultrastructure of Pulmonary Alveoli of Living Mice Under Respiratory Conditions. In: Ohno, S., Ohno, N., Terada, N. (eds) In Vivo Cryotechnique in Biomedical Research and Application for Bioimaging of Living Animal Organs. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55723-4_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55723-4_16
Publisher Name: Springer, Tokyo
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