A novel application for the cavalieri principle: a stereological and methodological study.

OBJECTIVE The Cavalieri principle was applied to consecutive pathology sections that were photographed at the same magnification and used to estimate tissue volumes via superimposing a point counting grid on these images. The goal of this study was to perform the Cavalieri method quickly and practically. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this study, 10 adult female Sprague Dawley rats were used. Brain tissue was removed and sampled both systematically and randomly. Brain volumes were estimated using two different methods. First, all brain slices were scanned with an HP ScanJet 3400C scanner, and their images were shown on a PC monitor. Brain volume was then calculated based on these images. Second, all brain slices were photographed in 10× magnification with a microscope camera, and brain volumes were estimated based on these micrographs. RESULTS There was no statistically significant difference between the volume measurements of the two techniques (P>0.05; Paired Samples t Test). CONCLUSION This study demonstrates that personal computer scanning of serial tissue sections allows for easy and reliable volume determination based on the Cavalieri method.