title: Three-dimensional reconstruction of tissues.
abstract: Cellular morphology is inherently three-dimensional. However, most histological techniques for tissue analysis focus on extracting information from two-dimensional slices of fixed samples or dissociated cells. These techniques result in a significant loss of the three-dimensional information of the tissue, including true cell volume, orientation, and whole cell shape. This unit discusses various options for three-dimensional imaging, provides a protocol for performing post-processing reconstruction based on serial slicing, and discusses the current advantages and limitations of the three-dimensional approach to quantitative tissue analysis. The focus of this protocol is on cardiac tissue, but the techniques can be applied to any solid tissue.
authors.affiliation: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cruz
authors.forename: Richard T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hayden
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006321:Heart / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D006652:Histological Techniques; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D014463:Ultrasonography