A reappraisal of the stathmokinetic technique.

The rate at which proliferating cells enter mitosis is an important cytokinetic measure. It is estimated by the metaphase arrest (or stathmokinetic) technique. This technique depends on the persistence of arrested metaphases in the tissue in question. But arrested metaphases do not, in fact, persist for long; some estimates of the rate at which cells are entering mitosis, based on a count of metaphases, are therefore underestimates. This paper presents a mathematical analysis of this phenomenon and a method of calculating the initial metaphase index from the depleted index at any given time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]