[Express-diagnosis of the diseases of the eye and its appendages by scanning electron microscopy with supravital staining].

This review describes the history of development of a new line of chemical reagents that prompts to significantly reevaluate the application of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in medical and biological studies, particularly in ophthalmology; considers the establishing of SEM as an analytical method; covers the problems in its application associated with the needs of clinical medicine and the complexities of biological sample preparation for electron microscopy. The article also presents in chronological order the technical solutions associated with creating a unique line of reagents for supravital staining. The multitude of technical solutions allows considering SEM as a method of express diagnostics. The review discusses examples of practical application of these methods for solving certain cases in clinical ophthalmology. The niche of SEM is considered among other methods of clinical diagnostics, as well as its future development involving the use of artificial intelligence.