Quantifying the extent of this vascular pathology, however, has been complicated by systematic error (bias) associated with the applications of assumption- and model-based morphometric techniques to human and animal tissues.
Unlike meristic counts, providing information restricted to particular skeletal elements, the development of geometric morphometric techniques allowed quantification and visualization of overall body shape changes [ 41- 43] and their relationships with other variables, improving the ability to conceptually and statistically link ecology with morphology [ 44, 45].
To this end, we have used immunohistochemistry and morphometric techniques to characterize neuronal populations and axonal projections in the human brainstem.
Although image digitization and morphometric techniques can better quantify the extent of histologic damage, we need more widely applicable ways to stratify kidney disease severity.
Morphometric techniques need to be designed and applied with biology in mind, and the quantitative results must be directly interpretable using biological methods [ 11, 13].
Morphometric analyses were performed on cross sections for each animal using image analysis software (Scion Image, Scion Corporation, Frederick, MD) and standard morphometric techniques.
To estimate the amount of the intraepithelial mucous (IM) in the respiratory epithelium lining the axial pulmonary airways from proximal and distal lung sections, the volume density (Vs) of AB/PAS-stained mucosubstances was quantified using computerized image analysis and standard morphometric techniques.
Using geometric and traditional morphometric techniques, we show that the evolution of the Perissodini involved discrete shifts in craniofacial shape that are correlated with foraging habitat and that sided differences in craniofacial anatomy are evident in certain species that feed exclusively on scales, consistent with the lateralization of feeding mechanics.
The validity and reliability of the morphometric techniques we employed have been established in previous reports [ 8, 14].
