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A Method For Estimation Of The Total Number Of The Particles:the Fractionator
Sinan Canan*, Bünyamin Şahİn**, Bünyami Ünal***, Hüseyin Aslan****,
Sait Bİlgİç*****, Süleyman Kaplan******
* Bil.Uzm., Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Fizyoloji AD,
** Yrd.Doç.Dr., Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Anatomi AD, Samsun
*** Yrd.Doç.Dr., Atatürk Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Histoloji-Embriyoloji AD, Erzurum
**** Uz.Dr., Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Histoloji-Embriyoloji AD,
***** Prof.Dr., Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Anatomi AD,
****** Prof.Dr., Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Fizyoloji AD, Samsun
Total number of particles contained in an organ or a structure is the most frequently reported as a quantity in morphometric studies. In this review, we will describe some theoretical and practical aspects of the fractionator sampling scheme, which is one of the most widely used methods among the latest design-based stereological methods. The fractionator sampling scheme is a combination of disector counting method and the systematic uniform random sampling scheme. The most important feature of this method is its simplicity in theory and in practice. In addition, the fractionator is the most efficient and unbiased counting method up to now. Although there are two different variants of the fractionator design as physical and optical, the underlying logic is the same for both. The fractionator is the most powerful tool for total particle number estimation since there is no need any assumptions or corrections neither about size, shape and orientation of the objects being counted nor about the effects of the tissue processing protocols used in the study during the application of the fractionator method. Resultant estimates obtained via the fractionator design are unbiased estimates of total particle number in a given organ or tissue.
Keywords: Fractionator, Physical fractionator,
Optical fractionator, Systematic uniform random sampling, Stereology
Turkiye Klinikleri J Med Sci 2002, 22 (S):30-46
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