Last year we reported on the use of reflected light interference microscopy (RLIM) for the direct color photography of the surfaces of living normal and malignant cell cultures without the use of replicas, fixatives, or stains. The surface topography of living cells was found to follow underlying cellular structures such as nuceloli, nuclear membranes, and cytoplasmic organelles, making possible the study of their three-dimensional relationships in time. The technique makes possible the direct examination of cells grown on opaque as well as transparent surfaces. The successful in situ electron microprobe analysis of the elemental composition and distribution within single tissue culture cells was also reported.This paper deals with the parallel and combined use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the two previous techniques in a study of living and fixed cancer cells. All three studies can be carried out consecutively on the same experimental specimens without disturbing the cells or their structural relationships to each other and the surface on which they are grown. KB carcinoma cells were grown on glass coverslips in closed Leighto tubes as previously described. The cultures were photographed alive by means of RLIM, then fixed with a fixative modified from Sabatini, et al (1963).
