A comparison of preparative techniques for the examination of the external morphology of fungal material with the scanning electron microscope

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Abstract
The external morphology of the ostiolar pore region in Sordaria humana was examined with the scanning electron microscope (SEM) in the vacuum-dried, air-dried, critical-point-dried, freeze-dried, partially frozen–hydrated, and fully frozen–hydrated states after a range of pretreatments. The appearance of this structure was dependent on the method of preparation and the operational conditions employed within the microscope. All the preparative procedures used produced artifacts. These secondary changes varied according to the method of preparation and the nature of the specimen (or part thereof). Common artifacts arising from freezing damage, slow chemical fixation, differential conformational changes, ice recrystallization, water condensation, and beam damage have been characterized. The examination of material in the frozen–hydrated condition is the closest we can get to viewing its structure under the SEM in a state of "suspended animation."