Electron Microscopy of Herpes Simplex

The first published statements on the elementary bodies of herpes simplex were made by Taneguchi and his collaborators (1934). They found the bodies inumerous in early vesicles but scanty after 48 hours, or when crusting had oc-curred. In view of the claimed size, however, 0.25,u, which is the size of vaccinia particles and much larger than that of herpes simplex, one might question the accuracy of these observations. No other mention of elementary bodies in vesicle fluid or lesions visible under the light microscope has come to our attention. Teissier et al. (1926) found early vesicles highly infective for the rabbit cornea, but could not demonstrate virus in older lesions that were crusted. To our knowledge no one has described the appearance of herpes simplex elementary bodies as viewed under the electron microscope, and it therefore seems pertinent to present our observations employing this visual aid. MATERALS AND METHODS The electron microscopy was done by one of the authors (G. R.) at the Squibb Institute for Medical Research, using an R.C.A. model EMU. The clinical mate-