Effect of amiodarone on the lung shown by polarized light microscopy.

Abstract

To show lipid deposits in the lung of patients treated with amiodarone. Formalin-fixed, unstained frozen sections were used to reveal lipid deposits by means of polarized light. Lung tissues obtained at the postmortem examination of one patient and the surgical biopsy of another were available. Birefringent lipid deposits were seen in the alveolar lining cells and macrophages, as well as in the walls of arterioles and venules. To assess the effect of amiodarone on the lung, polarized light microscopy of unstained, frozen sections is a simple and rapid method.