Invited review. The technique and scope of electron-probe X-ray analysis in pathology.

The purpose of this article is to review briefly both the techniques 
and applications of electron-probe x-ray analysis, but only studies of interest 
to pathologists will be dealt with. The principles of x-ray fluorescence 
spectrometry, the capabilities and limitations of energy dispersive x-ray analysis, equipment, 
specimen preparation, and the method of electron-probe x-ray analysis are discussed. 
Applications of electron-probe x-ray analysis include mineral deposits in lungs, intranuclear 
bismuth inclusions, gold deposits in tissues, the nature of haemosiderin, copper 
in Wilson's disease, calcium in mitochondria, surgical implants, foreign bodies in 
eyes and wounds, the specificity of v. Kossa method for calcium, 
cytochemical localization of acid phosphatase, chromaffin and argentaffin reactions, the transfer 
of antigenic material from macrophages to lymphocytes, and the diagnosis of 
cystic fibrosis by electron-probe x-ray analysis of nails. 