Lipid droplets in fatty liver. An electron microscopic study on ultrasections obtained by a new cutting technique.

A modified method for cutting thin section for electron microscopic studies from tissue rich in lipid is presented. Cutting procedure was performed at 8°(C) and results in flat sections and larger areas sectioned. Liver biopsy specimens from 9 patients with fatty liver are studied. A highly varied morphology of the lipid vacuoles is revealed. Droplets with triglyceride, vacuoles emptied of fat, some with a fine network and a capsule like arrangement, and transition stages between the two patterns are studied electron microscopically and histochemically by OTAN and Oil Red O staining. In some of the droplets small, dense granules of varied size and morphology are found.