Studies on quantitative morphology. IX. Component distribution in the thyroid gland of a hamster

Morphometric investigations were performed on equidistant stage sections of a hamster thyroid gland, which led to the following conclusions: In sections of the outer regions there are observed higher relative colloid percentages and lower data for the epithelium in relation to the values of sections of the middle part. Therefore the ratio epithelium: colloid is higher in the central region. There are high negative correlation coefficients for the comparison of these main constituents, but low values are calculated between the relative interstitium percentages and the epithelium: colloid ratio. Both of the lobes of the thyroid gland showed different volumes, but nearly the same composition. Up to a section distance of approximately 500 micron most of the relative colloid percentages of bodies, constructed by all requisite section areas and the corresponding section distances, are laying in a range of +/- 5% in relation to the value, which was calculated from all sections with a distance of always 20 micron. For the epithelium percentages such a borderline was found near 400 micron. A sharper criterion is the ratio epithelium: colloid. All data beneath a section distance of 200 micron are lying in a +/- 5% range, since +/- 10% borderlines are not exceeded up to 500 micron. This corresponds to about 5 sections per lobe in this example, which were measured in less than half an hour.