Absolute volume of differentiating cells in the epithelium of the human hard palate

In previous studies the differentiation of the epithelium in the human hard palate has been described stereologically using parameters expressed per unit tissue volume. Since single epithelial cells represent the true biological units of this tissue, it became necessary to estimate the absolute size of such cells in order to transform density data into absolute data. Therefore, in the present study, a stereological method (originally developed for myocyte volume determination) was tested in terms of its applicability to stratified epithelia; the absolute size of differentiating epithelial cells was determined in the epithelium of the human hard palate. The results suggest that (1) rather precise determination of epithelial cell size is possible by using the modified myocyte volume determination, and (2) the average cell volumes are 926 +/- 148, 4,111 +/- 1,619, 4,394 +/- 551 microns3 for the stratum basale, the upper stratum spinosum and the stratum granulosum, respectively. The results are discussed with respect to methodology and to differentiation phenomena in the epithelium of the human hard palate.