If you assume, you can make an ass out of u and me': a decade of the disector for stereological counting of particles in 3D space.

The year 1984 was a watershed in stereology. It saw the introduction of highly efficient and unbiased design-based methods for counting the number of arbitrary objects in 3-dimensional (3D) space using 2D sectional images. The only requirement is that the objects be unambiguously identifiable on parallel sections or successive focal planes. The move away from the ¿assumption-based' and ¿model-based' methods applied previously has been a major scientific advance. It has led to the resolution of several problems in different biomedical areas. The basic principle which makes possible 3D counting from sections is the disector. Here, we review the disector principle and consider its impact on the counting and sizing of biological particles. From now on, there can be no excuse for applying the biased counting methods of yesteryear. Their continued use, despite the availability of unbiased alternatives, should be seen as paying homage to History rather than advancing Science.