Some stereological correction formulae with particular applications in quantitative neurohistology

The present report furnishes explicit formulations for correcting the observed nucleolar and nuclear volume fractions of neurons sampled on the basis of the presence of nucleolar profiles when sectioned. Such samples, frequently chosen for quantitative studies in neurohistology, can result in the overestimation ov component volume fractions. The correction formulae are derived by considering theoretical spherical models exhibiting "nucleus-nucleolus" concentricity and eccentricity, and are tested by applying them to analogous neuron populations in rat spinal cord. It is concluded that, with certain reservations, the formulae can be usefully applied to data obtained from nucleolar-biased samples, thereby increasing the reliability of quantitative information gleaned from such samples.