# Publication of insect morphology work using 3D Slicer

**URL:** <https://discourse.slicer.org/t/publication-of-insect-morphology-work-using-3d-slicer/28282>\
**Category:** Development\
**Created:** [March 10, 2023, 3:41pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/publication-of-insect-morphology-work-using-3d-slicer/28282 "2023-03-10T15:41:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![hherhold](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/hherhold/32/12199_2.png) [@hherhold](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/hherhold)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 3:41pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/publication-of-insect-morphology-work-using-3d-slicer/28282/1 "2023-03-10T15:41:12Z")

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Apologies for posting in Development - this is where I got most of my help for this anyway.

I am very happy to announce the publication of our study, “Comparative Anatomy of the Insect Tracheal System, Part 1. Apterygotes, Paleoptera, Polyneoptera”. This work was conducted over the last several years with all post-processing and analysis done using 3D Slicer.

To quote from the acknowledgements: “The 3D Slicer development community, especially Andras Lasso, has been invaluable concerning all things Slicer, without which this study would not have been possible. Special thanks also to fellow “Slicers” Murat Maga, Steve Pieper, Jean Cristophe Fillion Robin, and Csaba Pinter for their many comments and suggestions over the years.”

The paper is open-access and may be accessed at:

[https://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/7313](https://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/7313)

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**Author:** ![muratmaga](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/muratmaga/32/3622_2.png) [@muratmaga](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/muratmaga)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 5:15pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/publication-of-insect-morphology-work-using-3d-slicer/28282/2 "2023-03-10T17:15:20Z")

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Congrats. Did “Bulletin” go digital only?

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**Author:** ![hherhold](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/hherhold/32/12199_2.png) [@hherhold](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/hherhold)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 6:08pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/publication-of-insect-morphology-work-using-3d-slicer/28282/3 "2023-03-10T18:08:57Z")

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Nope, it’s still print and digital.

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**Author:** ![hherhold](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/hherhold/32/12199_2.png) [@hherhold](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/hherhold)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 6:09pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/publication-of-insect-morphology-work-using-3d-slicer/28282/4 "2023-03-10T18:09:18Z")

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(and thanks, Murat!)

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**Author:** ![pieper](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/pieper/32/8_2.png) [@pieper](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/pieper)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 9:55pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/publication-of-insect-morphology-work-using-3d-slicer/28282/5 "2023-03-10T21:55:32Z")

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Congrats @hherhold that is impressive work 👍

Did you make any movies?

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**Author:** ![hherhold](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/hherhold/32/12199_2.png) [@hherhold](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/hherhold)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 9:58pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/publication-of-insect-morphology-work-using-3d-slicer/28282/6 "2023-03-10T21:58:46Z")

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I do have one that I used in a talk, maybe I’ll put it up on YouTube or something… Thanks for the suggestion!

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**Author:** ![rbumm](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/rbumm/32/9404_2.png) [@rbumm](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/rbumm)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2023, 2:02am UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/publication-of-insect-morphology-work-using-3d-slicer/28282/7 "2023-03-11T02:02:06Z")

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Great work, congratulations.  
How did you produce the labels with line connectors present on your 3D Slicer screenshots? Is that postprocessing using different software?

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**Author:** ![hherhold](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/hherhold/32/12199_2.png) [@hherhold](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/hherhold)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2023, 2:42am UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/publication-of-insect-morphology-work-using-3d-slicer/28282/8 "2023-03-11T02:42:52Z")

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Thanks, @rbumm !

A few of the figures are screen shots, but the plates and figures with lines and trachea abbreviations are actually not Slicer screen captures, it was a little bit more involved. Segments are exported as PLY files, imported into Blender for surfacing and lighting, and rendered out at high resolution. These images are then composited and labeled in Illustrator. This allowed preparation of the images at high resolution (600dpi) for large format printing.

The supplementary info includes slicer files with labeled 3D models of all specimens in the study, as well as high resolution PDF files of all plates. The labels on the 3D models are markups.