Ultrastructural localization of calcium in the mandibular condylar growth cartilage of the rat.

The potassium pyroantimonate technique was utilized for the selective subcellular localization of calcium in the mandibular condylar cartilage of 1-day-old rats. Electron dense calcium pyroantimonate precipitates were localized principally in mitochondria and at the cell membrane of the chondrocytes. In addition, small intracellular vesicles 0.1-0.2 micrometers in diameter were observed in proximity to the cell membrane of chondrocytes of the mid-hypertrophic zone. The results suggest that these vesicles were being extruded from the cell into the extracellular matrix. Energy-dispersive analysis by X-rays confirmed that calcium is the principal cation of the electron-dense precipitates.