A bone cryostat is described with which cold sections of unfixed, undemineralized calcified tissue can be prepared. The bone cryostat is suitable for the preparation of the sections required for the histochemical and immunofluorescent study of bone, for electron microprobe analysis, and for bone and joint autoradiography with soluble compounds.

Among the microanalytical techniques, electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) is one of the most powerful. Its performances can be used to provide an accurate characterization. In the present article the differences between the EPMA of highly irradiated materials and standard EPMA are highlighted. It focuses on the shielded EPMA specificities. Then, the article presents the difficulties encountered...

An electron microprobe is an electron microscope designed for the non-destructive x-ray microanalysis and imaging of solid materials. It is essentially a hybrid instrument combining the capabilities of both the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and an x-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF), with the added features of fine-spot focusing (~ 1 micrometer), optical microscope imaging, and precision...

Computer fitting techniques have been used to derive a new expression for the relationship between X-ray continuum intensity and atomic number for a range of electron accelerating potentials up to 25 kV, continuum energies up to 10 keV and average atomic numbers up to thirty. A practical approach to background corrections in energy dispersive electron microprobe analysis, which utilizes this ex...

This project was undertaken to determine whether electron probe x-ray microanalysis (microprobe analysis) could be utilized to determine the subcellular sites responsible for low sodium-induced calcium accumulation in myocardium. Ultrathin cryosections of rabbit papillary muscles were analyzed using microprobe analysis, and the concentrations (mmol/kg dry wt) of Na, Mg, I, S, Cl, K, and Ca were...

High resolution X-ray maps of Th, U, Pb, and Y in monazite can be used to construct age maps, which reveal the continuous spatial distribution of ages in a single grain of monazite. The age mapping algorithm and three examples are presented to illustrate the capabilities and applications of this mapping technique, the insights it can provide into monazite geochronology in general, and its limit...