Figure 3 |. Two alternative strategies for three-dimensional reconstruction of thick cells.

Cells that are too thick for imaging in the intact state can be first vitrified by freezing rapidly at high pressures, and then sectioned in a microtome. a | A ribbon of serial sections is transferred to an electron microscopic grid, imaged to obtain either a series of 2D or 3D images that can then be stacked together to obtain a 3D reconstruction of the entire cell. b | Alternatively, frozen cells can be progressively abraded using ion-abrasion scanning electron microscopy, and a 3D representation of the cell can be obtained by stacking together the series of images of each newly created surface. Figure reproduced, with permission, from REF. 64 © (2007) Academic Press.