Kaczmarek E, Becker R L
Department of Cellular Pathology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington, D.C., USA.
Anal Quant Cytol Histol. 1997 Apr;19(2):93-101.
To quantitatively characterize three-dimensional (3D) vascular patterns based on the path length distribution in networks.
Volume data were stacks of confocal fluorescence images of renal glomeruli, obtained using a confocal laser scanning microscope and spanning 60-130 microns in the z axis. After manual editing to remove nonglomerular components, transverse sections of glomerular capillary lumens were segmented automatically using two-dimensional morphologic filters. The center points and the overlap (between adjacent sections) of lumens segmented in the x vs. y plane were used to derive a graph (i.e., a multiply connected network) for each glomerulus. The average degree and the distance between connected nodes were used to derive the number of graph edges and the overall length of the capillary network.
Renderings of the 3D reconstructions demonstrated well the lobular structure of the glomerular tufts. Mean capillary length ranged from 53 to 180 microns in 10 glomeruli. Total capillary length ranged from 3,500 to 9,500 microns (mean 5,833).
Structural measurements based on confocal data require less effort than do measurements based on serial sections and make detailed study of diseased glomerular populations practical.
基于网络中的路径长度分布对三维（3D）血管模式进行定量表征。
体积数据为肾小球的共聚焦荧光图像堆栈，使用共聚焦激光扫描显微镜获得，在z轴上跨度为60 - 130微米。在人工编辑去除非肾小球成分后，使用二维形态学滤波器自动分割肾小球毛细血管腔的横断面。在x与y平面中分割的管腔的中心点和重叠部分（相邻切片之间）用于为每个肾小球导出一个图（即一个多重连接网络）。平均度和连接节点之间的距离用于导出图的边数和毛细血管网络的总长度。
3D重建的渲染图很好地展示了肾小球丛的小叶结构。10个肾小球的平均毛细血管长度在53至180微米之间。总毛细血管长度在3500至9500微米之间（平均5833微米）。
基于共聚焦数据的结构测量比基于连续切片的测量所需工作量更少，并且使对患病肾小球群体的详细研究变得切实可行。
