Table 5.
Definition of electron microscopic stereological parameters.
| Stereological Parameters (Electron Microscopy) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Parameter | Test System | Primary Magnification |
| Volume of alveolar epithelial type 1 cells in septal walls, V(AE1,sep) | Point counting | 8900× |
| Volume of alveolar epithelial type 2 cells in septal walls, V(AE2,sep) |
Point counting | 8900× |
| Volume of endothelial cells within septal walls, V(Endo,sep) |
Point counting | 8900× |
| Volume of interstitial cells within septal walls, V(IC,sep) | Point counting | 8900× |
| Volume of collagen fibrils within septal walls, V(col,sep) | Point counting | 8900× |
| Volume of the extracellular matrix without collagen fibrils within septal walls, V(recm,sep) | Point counting | 8900× |
| Volume of capillary lumen within septal walls, V(capl,sep) | Point counting | 8900× |
| Surface area of endothelium within septal walls, S(endo,sep) | Point and intersection counting | 8900× |
| Surface area of of basal lamina covered by alveolar epithelium within septal walls, S(epi_bl,sep) (12 weeks) | Point and intersection counting | 8900× |
| Surface area of the basal lamina covered by AE1, S(AE1_bl,sep) (12 weeks) |
Intersection counting | 8900× |
| Surface area of the basal lamina covered by AE2, S(AE2_bl,sep) (12 weeks) |
Intersection counting | 8900× |
| Surface area of the basal lamina covered by intermediate cells, S(Inter_bl,sep) (12 weeks) |
Intersection counting | 8900× |
| Surface area of alveolar epithelium covered by air within parenchyma, S(epi_air,par) | Intersection counting | 8900× |
| Surface area of the AE1 covered by air within parenchyma, S(AE1_air,par) (12 weeks) |
Intersection counting | 8900× |
| Surface area of the AE2 covererd by air within parenchyma, S(AE2_air,par) (12weeks) |
Intersection counting | 8900× |
| Surface area of the intermediate cells covered by air within parenchyma, S(Inter_air, par) (12 weeks) |
Intersection counting | 8900× |
| Arithmetic mean thickness of the blood–gas barrier, τ(bg) | Volume-to-surface ratio | 8900× |
| Volume of lamellar bodies within the septal walls V(LB,sep) | Point counting | 7100× |
| Volume-weighted mean volume of the LB’s, νv(LB) | Point sampling intercept method | 7100× |