Enumeration of the number of microprocesses of cultured murine T-lymphoma cells: A comparative study of two new morphometric methods

Two morphometric methods, one using a transmission electron microscope (TEM), the other using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), were developed to quantitate the number of surface microprocesses, discs or pores over spherical cells. The number of the surface processes over EL-4 murine T-lymphoma cells cultured in vitro were measured by the two methods. The measurement using TEM yielded 511 ± 45 microprocesses per cell, whereas SEM enumerated 532 ± 25 microprocesses per cell. The method using a TEM, in effect, results in reduction of observed data, and may have an advantage over the method using a SEM when the structures of interest are numerous.