Article
Article
Cytochemistry
Article By:
Novikoff, Phyllis M. Department of Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.
Last reviewed:December 2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.178700
The science concerned with the chemistry of cells and cell components, with particular emphasis on the location of chemical constituents and enzymes. Specifically, for the purposes of cytochemistry, the macromolecules of subcellular structures can be treated chemically to form microscopically visible end products. For example, proteins, enzymes, lipids, carbohydrates and nucleic acids can be directly visualized in cell nuclei, membranes and organelles by cytochemical methods that generate images that can be viewed with bright-field, light, confocal, electron, or fluorescence microscopes (see illustration). See also: Cell (biology); Cell, spectral analysis of; Confocal microscopy; Electron microscope; Fluorescence microscope; Interference microscope; Phase-contrast microscope; Polarized light microscope; Scanning electron microscope
The content above is only an excerpt.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information
