The contemporary use of electron microscopy in the diagnosis of ciliary disorders and sperm centriolar abnormalities

Abstract

Cilia and flagella are hair-like structures which extend from the cell membrane and are involved in a variety of biological functions in eukaryotes. Cilia are found in a wide range of human tissues and cell types including: the epithelium of the upper and lower respiratory tracts, the epithelium of the kidney, bile and pancreatic ducts, the embryonic node, and the ependymal cells in the brain and in the oviduct epithelium.