The use of electron microscopy for the diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) gave a great impulse to medical research. After its introduction for biological studies in 1931, several microscopic details from observation of animal and tumor cells by TEM were published starting from 1953. Atlas of diagnostic electron microscopy were successively published (1). TEM represented a useful adjuvant method for careful investigation of subcellular or fine modifications accompanying various pathological conditions, including inflammatory/degenerative (2), genetic (3,4) and neoplastic diseases (5-7).