Electron microscopy observations on Trypanosoma brucei: freeze-cleaving and thin-sectioning study of the apical part of the flagellar pocket.

Observations on the apical part of the flagellar pocket of Trypanosoma brucei using the freeze-cleaving and thin-sectioning techniques of electron microscopy are reported. The flagellar pocket is shown as a flask-shaped depression in the body, continuous with the pellicle and flagellar sheath. The membranes of the apical part of the pocket on the flanged side of the body compress the flagellar sheath, forming part of a “neck region”. This region is completed on the broad body side of the flagellar pocket when it embraces the flagellar sheath. The possible role of the neck region in the dynamic function of pinocytosis is discussed.