Shape and position of the sarcoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus in the sole plate and remaining subsarcolemmal muscle region of the mouse using imidazole-osmium staining.

By means of thin (< or =150 nm) and thick (>150 nm) sections, the shape and position of the sarcoplasmic reticulum and of the Golgi apparatus in the sole plate and in the remaining subsarcolemmal sarcoplasmic region were investigated. For this purpose the membranes were stained by means of imidazole-osmium postfixation and unstained sections analyzed under the electron microscope. Both in the sarcoplasma of the sole plate and around the muscle fiber nuclei, a network of tubules is visible after imidazole-osmium staining which can be identified as the sarcoplasmic reticulum solely on the basis of its contacts with the perinuclear cistern and the cisterns of the triads. Findings in literature on the position of the Golgi apparatus are confirmed and similar spatial relationships and vesiculations between the perinuclear cisterns and the Golgi apparatus of the sole plate nuclei and the other subsarcolemmal fiber nuclei are also demonstrated using this new staining method.