Abstract
Quantitative studies are increasingly found in the literature, particularly in the fields of development/evolution, pathology, and neurosciences. Image digitalization converts tissue images into a numeric form by dividing them into very small regions termed picture elements or pixels. Image analysis allows automatic morphometry of digitalized images, and stereology aims to understand the structural inner three-dimensional arrangement based on the analysis of slices showing two-dimensional information. To quantify morphological structures in an unbiased and reproducible manner, appropriate isotropic and uniform random sampling of sections, and updated stereological tools are needed. Through the correct use of stereology, a quantitative study can be performed with little effort; efficiency in stereology means as little counting as possible (little work), low cost (section preparation), but still good accuracy. This short text provides a background guide for non-expert morphologists.
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Acknowledgments
The authors participate in the Post-Graduate Program of Human and Experimental Biology (www.bhex.uerj.br), State University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The author’s laboratory is sponsored by grants from CNPq (Brazilian National Council for Science and Technology, www.cnpq.br) and FAPERJ (Rio de Janeiro Foundation for Science and Research, www.fapaerj.br).
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Mandarim-de-Lacerda, C.A., Fernandes-Santos, C., Aguila, M.B. (2010). Image Analysis and Quantitative Morphology. In: Hewitson, T., Darby, I. (eds) Histology Protocols. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 611. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-345-9_17
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-345-9_17
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