ISSN:
1432-0878
Keywords:
Digital image processing
;
Seminiferous epithelium
;
Spermatocytes
;
Spermatogenesis
;
Human testis
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
Notes:
Summary With the use of a digital image-processing method three-dimensional reconstructions of the arrangement of spermatocytes in human seminiferous tubules were performed. With this method it was possible to investigate the cellular distribution in the tubule in nearly any given perspective and projection. In addition, by means of simple mathematical procedures, such as by transformation of Cartesian coordinates into cylindrical coordinates, it was possible to vary the shape of a reconstruction, i.e., to convert the cylindrical image of a tubular portion into a right-angled r-ϕ-z-representation. The present work not only confirms the existence of a complex helical plan of organization of the human seminiferous epithelium but also provides further aspects of the phenomenon of physiological germ-cell loss and its integration into the kinetics of spermatogenesis.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00218375
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