Adipose tissue determinations in cadavers--a comparison between cross-sectional planimetry and computed tomography.
The adipose tissue surfaces in 11 slices (+/- 5 cm from the umbilicus) were compared in two cadavers using computed tomography (CT) versus planimetry of band-sawed slices of the corresponding sections. A very close correlation was found with partial correlations of around 0.90. Retroperitoneal fat formed a considerable proportion of the total adipose tissue surface in the slices. The results were similar whether fat was defined as -250 to -50, -190 to -30, or -140 to -40 Hounsfield units. These data indicate that CT measurements agree closely with a direct morphometric method and thus can be used as a 'gold standard' for future development. The fact that fat which is located extraperitoneally, but still intraabdominally, constitutes a significant proportion of the slice surface in the umbilical region indicates that data relating intraabdominal fat measurements to metabolic functions must be interpreted with caution.
Rössner
S
S
Department of Medicine, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27103.
Bo
W J
WJ
Hiltbrandt
E
E
Hinson
W
W
Karstaedt
N
N
Santago
P
P
Sobol
W T
WT
Crouse
J R
JR
D000005:Abdomen; D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000473:pathology*; D000368:Aged; D000886:Anthropometry / Q000379:methods*; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*