Examining morphometric data with Import3D

Take a new look at the shape in the Import3D tool.

Those two little green lines in the dense clusters are new. They appeared after exporting to the CellBuilder. And is there a little orange blob at one end of each green line?

To find out what this is all about, it is necessary to discover what lies at the center of these dense clusters.

A. Zooming in

To zoom in for a closer look, first make sure that the Import3D tool's Zoom button is on (if it isn't, just click on it).
Then click on the canvas, just to the right of the area of interest, and hold the mouse button down while dragging the cursor to the right. If it becomes necessary to re-center the image, click on the Translate button, then click on the canvas and drag the image into postion. To start zooming again, click on the Zoom button.

Repeat as needed until you get what you want.

The irregular shape at the center, with the transverse orange lines, is the soma of a neuron. The green line is its principal axis, as identified by the Import3D tool. At least 9 neurites converge on it, and a fine red line connects the proximal end of each branch to the center of the soma.

If you zoom in on the other green line and orange blob, you'll find another soma there.

So by zooming in, it is possible to discover that this particular morphometric data file contained measurements from at least two different cells.

To zoom out, make sure the Zoom button is on,
then click near the right edge of the canvas and drag toward the left. To fit the image to the window, just use the graph's "View = plot" menu item.


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