The 3D functional reconstruction of a whole organ or organism down to the single cell level and to the subcellular components and molecules is a major future scientific challenge. The recent convergence of advanced imaging techniques with an impressively increased computing power allowed early attempts to translate and combine 2D images and functional data to obtain in-silico organ 3D models. This review first describes the experimental pipeline required for organ 3D reconstruction: from the collection of 2D serial images obtained with light, confocal, light-sheet microscopy or tomography, followed by their registration, segmentation and subsequent 3D rendering. Then, we summarise the results of investigations performed so far by applying these 3D image analyses to the study of the female and male mammalian gonads. These studies highlight the importance of working towards a 3D in-silico model of the ovary and testis as a tool to gain insights into their biology during the phases of differentiation or adulthood, in normal or pathological conditions. Furthermore, the use of 3D imaging approaches opens to key technical improvements, ranging from image acquisition to optimisation and development of new processing tools, and unfolds novel possibilities for multidisciplinary research.

中文翻译：

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整个卵巢和睾丸的三维成像和重建：生殖科学家的新前沿

整个器官或生物体的 3D 功能重建到单细胞水平和亚细胞成分和分子是未来的一项重大科学挑战。最近先进的成像技术与显着增强的计算能力相结合，使得早期尝试转换和组合 2D 图像和功能数据以获得计算机器官 3D 模型。这篇综述首先描述了器官 3D 重建所需的实验流程：从通过光、共焦、光片显微镜或断层扫描获得的 2D 串行图像的集合，然后是它们的配准、分割和随后的 3D 渲染。然后，我们通过将这些 3D 图像分析应用于雌性和雄性哺乳动物性腺的研究来总结迄今为止进行的调查结果。这些研 此外，3D 成像方法的使用开启了关键技术改进，从图像采集到新处理工具的优化和开发，并为多学科研究提供了新的可能性。