Freeze Fracture Images of Cells and Tissues

This freeze fracture technique coupled with transmission electron microscopy has contributed significant scientific information toward the experimental investigation of both normal and abnormal cells in the fields of cellular developmental and molecular biology and to several subdisciplines in medicine including pathology, anatomy, and physiology. Freeze Fracture Images of Cells and Tissues presents a complete and up-to-date account of the macromolecular organization of membranes and the many membrane specializations of cells as well as overall cellular organizations as reflected in tissues and organs. The first chapter describes the basic procedures of freeze fracture techniques as well as some of the difficulties encountered in the process and the artifacts that might be generated. The subsequent chapters present an annotated tour through the major mammalian cell, tissue and organ systems.
While the book emphasizes freeze fracture images and the useful scientific information contained in these images (most of the images illustrated were prepared specifically for this book), the authors have liberally included transmission electron micrographs of ultrathin sectioned cells, tissues and organs in order to aid in the interpretation of the freeze fracture image and increase the book's utility. Where three dimensional views are particularly useful, scanning electron micrographs are included. Freeze Fracture Images of Cells and Tissues provides a complete and correlative treatment of biological organization at the cellular and macromolecular levels.