Figure 4

Example of multicellular tissue to whole uterus modalities for the myometrial physiome. Quantitative 3-dimensional reconstruction of tissue level morphological data contributes to models of whole organ function. A, an uterine biopsy is fixed and stained with picrosirius red and serial optical sections examined by laser confocal microscopy. The surface areas of distinct myometrial cell bundles can be quantified through the depth of the scanned tissue to monitor cellular geometry. B, digital reconstruction of late third trimester gravid human uterus from magnetic resonance imaging data sets; from left to right: (i) the 3D stacks of extracted uterine wall boundaries; (ii) surface view of the reconstructed 3D geometry (iii) semi-transparent view through the cervix. C, from left to right (i-iv), computerised simulation of uterine and fetal movements in the final stage of active labour enables consideration of whole organ physiology in concert with pelvic skeleton biomechanics. Colour-coded brightness (blue-red) reflects intensity of pressure exerted on the fetus as it passes through the birth canal.