Mandarim-de-Lacerda Carlos Alberto, Fernandes-Santos Caroline, Aguila Marcia Barbosa
Laboratory of Morphometry and Cardiovascular Morphology, Institute of Biology, Biomedical Center, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Methods Mol Biol. 2010;611:211-25. doi: 10.1007/978-1-60327-345-9_17.
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.
定量研究在文献中越来越常见，尤其是在发育/进化、病理学和神经科学领域。图像数字化通过将组织图像划分为称为图像元素或像素的非常小的区域，将其转换为数字形式。图像分析允许对数字化图像进行自动形态测量，而体视学旨在基于对显示二维信息的切片的分析来理解结构内部的三维排列。为了以无偏且可重复的方式量化形态结构，需要对切片进行适当的各向同性和均匀随机抽样，以及更新的体视学工具。通过正确使用体视学，可以轻松地进行定量研究；体视学中的效率意味着尽可能少的计数（工作量小）、低成本（切片制备），但仍具有良好的准确性。这篇短文为非专业形态学家提供了背景指南。
