Ultrastructure of the Golgi Apparatus, Mitochondria and Endoplasmic Reticulum

The Golgi apparatus was first observed by Golgi in 1898 and referred to by him as the apperato reticulare interno . Notwithstanding the fact that this material has since been described in practically every type of cell, not all investigators are agreed that it is a bonafide cellular structure. In fact, it has been characterized as an artifact by Walker and Allen (1927), Parat (1928), Worley (1946), Palade and Claude (1949), Baker (1950) and Thomas (1951). Much credit is due Dalton and Felix (1954) for clearly demonstrating the Golgi apparatus by means of the phase-contrast and electron microscopes. In fact strong evidence is now available which seems to verify unquestionably the presence of the Golgi apparatus in cells (cf. Gatenby, 1955 for references). In addition, it has been recently isolated and chemically analyzed (Schneider and Kuff, 1954). However, a convincing demonstration of its functional significance in somatic cells is still wanting