[Can electronic measurement of total cell number in bronchoalveolar lavage replace conventional chamber counting?]

On average, the electronic technique for counting cells employing a Coulter counter produces higher, though comparable, numbers of cells than does manual counting in a Neubauer counting chamber. On the basis of cell size distribution, electronic counting permits a rough preliminary differentiation to be made. Owing to the much larger number of cells counted, an appreciably improved statistical analysis proves possible.