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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. 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.

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