Gender‐based cytomorphometric analysis of buccal exfoliated cells in a South Indian population

Objective To assess differences based on gender in nuclear area (NA), cytoplasmic area (CA), and nuclear‐cytoplasmic ratio (N:C ratio) values for clinically normal buccal smears in apparently healthy subjects of a South Indian population, thereby providing definitive baseline cytomorphometric measurements for the South Indian population. Methods Buccal smears were collected from 60 healthy subjects (30 males and 30 females) of a South Indian population above 18 years in age. Values of the NA and CA were measured, and the N:C ratio calculated, using ImageJ software. Statistical analysis of the data with independent t tests and 95% confidence intervals was done using SPSS version 21 (significance set at P