Utility of the horizontal slice for stereological characterization of lineal features

SUMMARY The efficient stereological procedure for estimating the length density Lv of lineal microstructural features is further improved: the length density of long or short (or those of any arbitrary geometry) lineal features can now be estimated from the measurements performed on the projected images of vertical and horizontal slices of unknown and variable thickness. It is not necessary to identify uniquely the intersections of the lineal features with the parallel faces of the slices in the projected images and distinguish them from the images of the feature end points contained in the slices. The new technique does not involve any assumptions, and it is applicable to the lineal features of any arbitrary geometry and anisotropy. As a ‘bonus’, the same input measurements also yield an assumption‐free estimate of the total number of true lineal‐feature end points per unit volume Ev, and the average slice thickness.