NC ratio
The nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio is a measurement used in cell biology. It is a ratio of the size of the nucleus of a cell to the size of the cytoplasm of that cell.
The N:C ratio indicates the maturity of a cell, because as a cell matures the size of its nucleus generally decreases. So, for example, "blast" forms of erythrocytes, leukocytes, and megakaryocytes start with an N:C ratio of 4:1, which decreases as they mature to 2:1 or even 1:1.
An increased N:C ratio is commonly associated with precancerous dysplasia as well as with malignant cells.
