[An analysis of the supramolecular organization of the olfactory neuroepithelium in the rat by freeze etching with rotary platinum-carbon shadow-casting].

The rat olfactory epithelium was analysed by freeze-deep etching and Pt/C rotary replication. Ultrathin sections and freeze-etching findings of proximal (dendrite) and distal (axon) parts of bipolar olfactory neurons are examined. The supramolecular organization of neuron membranes and intracellular cytoskeleton structure is studied. The role of the Schwann cells in formation of isolated axon bundles is discussed. Methods of the whole neuroepithelium preparation for freeze-etching and different easy approaches of obtaining the Pt/C rotary shadowing replicas with high resolution (15-20A) are presented.