title: New developments in electron microscopy for serial image acquisition of neuronal profiles.
abstract: Recent developments in electron microscopy largely automate the continuous acquisition of serial electron micrographs (EMGs), previously achieved by laborious manual serial ultrathin sectioning using an ultramicrotome and ultrastructural image capture process with transmission electron microscopy. The new systems cut thin sections and capture serial EMGs automatically, allowing for acquisition of large data sets in a reasonably short time. The new methods are focused ion beam/scanning electron microscopy, ultramicrotome/serial block-face scanning electron microscopy, automated tape-collection ultramicrotome/scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscope camera array. In this review, their positive and negative aspects are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cerebral Circuitry, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, 5-1 Myodaiji-Higashiyama, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8787, Japan Department of Physiological Science, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Okazaki, Japan Japan Science and Technology Agency, Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology, Tokyo, Japan yoshiy@nips.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kubota
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000648:ultrastructure; D016591:Histocytological Preparation Techniques / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning / Q000379:methods*; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission / Q000379:methods*; D008867:Microtomy / Q000379:methods*; D009474:Neurons / Q000648:ultrastructure*
keywords: 3D reconstruction; ATUM; FIB-SEM; SBEM; neuron