Scanning electron microscopy of normal and malignant human urothelium.

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to evaluate and compare normal bladder mucosa to tumor epithelium as well as to normal-appearing mucosa in patients with diagnosed bladder tumor. Bladder urothelium adjacent to tumors exhibits a characteristic pattern of fine structural relief which is distinct from normal uroepithelium. These changes in microcontour may be guides to the identification of early malignancy, and thus the technique will be helpful in deciding how aggressive the treatment of bladder tumor should be.