Fractal Dimension Exponent for Quantitative Evaluation of Liver Extracellular Matrix in Biopsy Specimens

Complexity is the main feature of every biological system, including human organs, tissues, cells and sub-cellular components. This property of the organized biological matter cannot be quantified by means of the classical Euclidean geometry, which is able to measure regular object, practically unknow in Nature. The aims of this paper werea)to underline the importance of theshapeof a biological structure andb)to evaluate theoutline roughnessand theinternal irregularityof the extracellular matrix collagen seen on liver biopsy specimens during the chronic diseases. The quantification of these two parameters gives a measure of two qualitative properties of the liver extracellular matrix.