Hi netters,
Is there anybody out in the net who knows
how many cells are in the lungs of mice ??
Please give me estimations or references that could help me !
Thanks for Your help
Hans-Peter Steffens
Institut of Virology
University of Mainz
stefh000 at mzdmza.zdv.uni-mainz.de
Interesting question.
One could estimate the number of cells in a mouse lung as follows:
1) remove lungs from a mouse, deflate as much as possible and deterime
the wet weight.
2) multiply lung weight by 1.065 g/ml (density of tissue) to
estimate lung volume or determine lung tissue volume displacement
( aprox. 0.19 ml)
3) divide lung volume by the volume of a spherical cell of 10 microns
in diameter (500 femtolitre)
0.19 ml/500 femtolitre = 380 million cells
This of course is only a minimal estimate based on volumes of spherical
cells. 75% of mammalian lungs are comprised of cell specialized to
maximize the surface area to volume ratio in contrast to spheres
which have a minimum surface area to volume ratio.
tvitalis at prl.pulmonary.ubc.ca
