Figure 4:

(a) TEM photomicrograph of a skin section from the control group, showing one of the cells of stratum basale lying on the basement membrane (arrow) to which it is attached by haemidesmosomes (arrow heads). Underneath the basement membrane, there are collagen fibres (C). The nucleus is oval with fine chromatin and the cytoplasm contains lots of free ribosomes (R) and tonofilaments (T). There are also desmosomes (D) between the cell and adjacent cells. (b) TEM photomicrograph of a skin section from the DC 2 week group showing a basal cell. The nucleus shows condensed chromatin, widening of the perinuclear space (arrow) and the cytoplasm shows swollen mitochondria with disrupted crestae (M) and ribosomes (R). There is also widening of the intercellular space (S); however, the appearance of desmosomes (D) and hemidesmosomes (HD) is normal. (c) TEM photomicrograph of a skin section from the St 2 week group showing one of the cells of stratum basale which appears to be similar to the control group. The nucleus is oval with fine chromatin and the cytoplasm contains lots of free ribosomes (R), tonofilaments (T) and some mitochondria (M). Note the presence of desmosomes (D) between the cell and adjacent cells. (TEM ×20 000.)