Quantitation in inflammatory bowel disease using computerised interactive image analysis.

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Abstract
Objective measurements of various histological features in rectal biopsy material were made using computerized interactive image analysis. Biopsies from patients with ulcerative colitis and infective diarrhea were distinguished from each other and from normal biopsies; they were not distinguished from biopsies of patients with Crohn''s disease, which behaved as a heterogeneous entity rather than a single disease. The measurements showed that the crypt atrophy described in active ulcerative colitis may be a misnomer, the appearances being due to an increase in mucosal depth and alteration in crypt configuration rather than a true atrophy. The ratio of crypt cell height to surface cell height gave the best separation of Crohn''s disease from ulcerative colitis.