Polarized light scattering spectroscopy for quantitative measurement of epithelial cellular structures in situ

We report an in situ method of probing the structure of living epithelial c ells, based on light scattering spectroscopy with polarized light. The meth od makes it possible to distinguish between single backscattering from uppe rmost epithelial cells and multiply scattered light. The spectrum of the si ngle backscattering component can be further analyzed to provide histologic al information about the epithelial cells such as the size distribution of the cell nuclei and their refractive index. These are valuable quantities t o detect and diagnose precancerous changes in human tissues.