Electron Microscope Studies of the Human Epidermis

The thin skin of the left upper quadrant of the human abdomen has been studied by electron microscopy. Tissue removed with a high speed rotary punch was fixed in osmium tetroxide or potassium permanganate. The latter fixative in our preparations is superior to osmium for the demonstration of epidermal cell membranes and certain other membranous structures of the epidermis. The cytoplasmic membranes of basal cells and cells of the stratum granulosum have been found to be relatively straight, while those of most spinous cells are sharply scalloped. The deep cells of the stratum spinosum in the rete ridge area show cell membranes and cytoplasmic structure intermediate between true basal cells and most cells of the stratum spinosum. The extracellular material of the desmosome has been found to consist of alternate dark and light laminae similar to those described by Odland (13) and Horstmann and Knoop (7).