Author Description

The 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. This book presents a complete and up-to-date account of the macromolecular organization of membranes and the many membrane specialization of cells as well as overall cellular organization as reflected in tissues and organs. While the book emphasizes freeze fracture images and the useful scientific information contained in them, the authors have also 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.