Practical stereological methods for morphometric cytology.

Stereological principles provide efficient and reliable tools for the determination of quantitative parameters of tissue structure on sections. Some principles which allow the estimation of volumetric ratios, surface areas, surface-to-volume ratios, thicknesses of tissue or cell sheets, and the number of structures are reviewed and presented in general form; means for their practical application in electron microscopy are outlined. The systematic and statistical errors involved in such measurements are discussed.