Improved ultrastructural detail in tissues fixed with potassium permanganate.

An improved method has been developed for fixation with potassium permanganate. Although this is one of the methods widely used to preserve the dense cores of adrenergic storage vesicles, fixation of other tissue components is usually poor. The main differences from previously reported methods using potassium permanganate are the use of a physiological saline as the vehicle for all solutions, and, following this, very rapid dehydration before infiltration with plastic. Cellular and intercellular details of tissue ultrastructure may, in general, be evaluated as satisfactorily as with conventional fixatives, with the exception of certain protein elements associated with ribosome, microtubule, and myofilament organization. Nerve endings with agranular or clear vesicles may be distinguished from adrenergic endings since the dense cores of the vesicles of the latter are preserved by this method.