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Application of design‐based stereology for estimation of absolute volume and surface area of the articular and calcified cartilage compartments of undecalcified human femoral heads
Author(s) -
HARTLEV L.B.,
NYENGAARD J.R.,
THOMSEN J.S.,
BOEL L.W.T.,
STENGAARDPEDERSEN K.,
HAUGE E.M.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of microscopy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.569
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1365-2818
pISSN - 0022-2720
DOI - 10.1111/jmi.12055
Subject(s) - stereology , femoral head , biomedical engineering , articular cartilage , anatomy , cartilage , materials science , volume (thermodynamics) , pathology , medicine , osteoarthritis , physics , alternative medicine , quantum mechanics
Summary Design‐based stereological methods using systematic uniform random sampling, the Cavalieri estimator and vertical sections are used to investigate undecalcified human femoral heads. Ten entire human femoral heads, obtained from normal women and normal men, were systematically sampled and thin undecalcified vertical sections were obtained. Absolute volumes and surface areas of the entire femoral head, the articular cartilage and the calcified cartilage compartments were estimated. In addition, the average thickness of the articular cartilage and the calcified cartilage were calculated. The stereological procedures applied to the human femoral heads resulted in average coefficient of errors, which were 0.03–0.06 for the volume estimates and 0.03–0.04 for the surface area estimates. We conclude that design‐based stereology using the Cavalieri estimator and vertical sections can successfully be used in large undecalcified tissue specimens, like the human femoral head, to estimate the absolute volume and surface area of macroscopic as well as of microscopic tissue compartments. The application of well‐known design‐based stereological methods carries potential advantage for investigating the pathology in inflammatory and degenerative joint diseases.