Efficient estimation of cell volume and number using the nucleator and the disector

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Abstract
The nucleator allows the unbiased estimation of absolute structural quantities of suitably sampled, arbitrarily shaped structures from observations made from arbitrary points using isotropic probes. A number of time‐saving modifications using the nucleator and the consequences of the modifications are studied in terms of their bias and efficiency. Using rat neocortex as an example, a description is given of how to estimate mean neuronal volume and total neuron number efficiently from only a few pairs of plastic sections with a thickness of about 3 μm.