Hisatake Kondo & Wiphawi Hipkaeo

An overview is given of the history of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with a focus on several questions: what were the major ways in which TEM enhanced our knowledge of the cell structure beyond that gained in light microscopy (LM); how were intracellular structures not recognized in LM newly disclosed in TEM; how was the reality of newly observed intracellular structures established, and how important was baseline information accumulated during the long LM history to priming scientists using TEM for the task of finding new intracellular structures. It is hoped that this review will encourage young researchers to discover details of the morphology of cells and tissues in the near future.

KEY WORDS: Electron microscopy; Early days of bio-EM; Hyaloplasm; Light microscopy; Reality or artifacts.

KONDO, H. & HIPKAEO, W. Lessons from literature of prominent pioneers in the early days of electron microscopic analysis of cells (1940s-1950s). Int. J. Morphol., 43(1):54-69, 2025.