Epithelial Volume Viz

Thi is a set of techniques that may be used to produce detailed 3D models of the individual cells in biological epithelial tissues. The inputs to the techniques are a 3D volumetric model of the tissue and a mesh model of the cell faces lying on it s atipical surface. We have applied these techniques to construct the individual epithelial cells of the wing imaginal disc of Drosophila melanogaster. To date, 3D epithelial cell models have been created, allowing for the calculation and visualization of cell parameters. The results show position-dependent patterns of cell shape in the wing imaginal disc. Our procedures should offer a general data processing pipeline for the construction of detailed 3D models of a wide variety of epithelial tissues.