Microcomputer-aided reconstruction: a system designed for the study of 3-D microstructure in histology and histopathology.

We have designed a microcomputer system to reproduce 3-D tissue structures graphically from serial microscopic sections. The system, based on a Hewlett-Packard model 310 desktop computer, comprises a floppy disc drive, a hard-disc that extends the available user memory by adding 40 Mbytes, a colour memory-mapped graphics display, a graphics tablet and a graphics printer. A set of serial 2-D images, manually extracted from serial sections using a microprojector, are digitized on the tablet by tracing the contours of the structure of interest; up to ten different structures can be inputted and reproduced using a 'hidden line' effect. The software, written mainly in HP-BASIC 4.0, produces 3-D pictures of a tissue structure either as a 'stack of slices' with or without being 'tiled' with triangular patches, or in 'wire framing'. Any angle of rotation around the x, y and z axes is assigned for the image to be reconstructed, allowing the operator to obtain the best perspective. The system also discloses the internal connectivity of an object by reducing the structure to a network diagram; this is especially useful in analysing the topological properties of tissue structure. It is shown how, in some examples, the system contributes to a better understanding of tissue microstructures and their morbid changes and how, as an effective tool in morphology, it will aid future studies of histology and histopathology.