Quantitative Morphology Update: Image Analysis

Quantitative morphology is a reliable tool in developmental, clinical and aging biology. Quantitative data of histological improvement and/or impairment due to dietary manipulations or pharmacological interventions draws the attention of countless researchers worldwide. Morphometry allows a wide range of two-dimension analysis to be performed, whereas image segmentation allows the measurement of a single structure or the determination of the intensity of its color after adequate immunostaining or even the area occupied by a specific sort of cell. When it comes to unbiased analysis, consideration should be given to suitable tissue perfusion, fixation and embedding, avoiding artifacts. Furthermore, tissue shrinkage should be taken into account. In order to ensure reproducibility, one of the most important principles in scientific research, and to allow different groups to be compared, image acquisition and image segmentation emerge as crucial steps and should be standardized. This paper aims to approach some important care for appropriate tissue processing and evaluation, and shows some practical examples of how morphometry and image segmentation can be applied to your experiment.