STEREOLOGY AND MORPHOMETRY METHODS WITH S PECIAL REFERENCE TO LUNGS

Three dimensional microscopic structures are represented by profiles o n two dimensional microscopy's sections. The stereology has developed a set of methods based on measurements made on these profiles, that al lows a three dimensional estimation of structures for whole organ. Ste reology and morphometry contribute to the understanding of the physiol ogical and pathological changes thanks to an accurate quantitative rep resentation of the organ. In this paper, different stereological metho ds are applied to a concrate example : the lungs. The paper includes t he following steps : (1) processing of the lung, (2) volume measuremen ts and (3) sampling proceeding allowing unbiaised quantitative approac h.