THE ARCHITECTURE OF LIVING CELLS—RECENT ADVANCES IN METHODS OF BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH—OPTICAL SECTIONING WITH THE ULTRA-VIOLET MICROSCOPE

Abstract

The ultra-violet microscope is a new tool for biological research. With the new technique one can section optically living normal and malignant cells and photograph at very high magnifications with a degree of resolution never heretofore achieved. The average living cell, about 1/3000 in. in diam., is figuratively "sliced" into sections spaced about 1/100,000 in. apart and each section is photographed without materially interfering with the normal behavior of the cell. In the average cell 30 or even more photographs may be taken on uniformly spaced optical planes. Thus is photographed at magnifications as high as 5000 diam. the interior architecture of living cells. By virtue of the invisible monochromatic u.-v. light used, the resolving ability of the system is about twice that by any other known means. The apparatus is briefly described and illustrated; and photographs are included of the structure of normal and malignant living cells and of living brain cells.