The optical rotator is an unbiased, local stereological principle for estimation of cell volume and cell surface area in thick, transparent slabs. The underlying principle was first described in 1993 by Kiêu & Jensen (J. Microsc. 170, 45-51) who also derived an estimator of length. In this study we further discuss the methods derived from this principle and present two new local volume estimators. The optical rotator benefits from information obtained in all three dimensions in thick sections but avoids over-/ underprojection problems at the extremes of the cell. Using computer-assisted microscopes the extra measurements demand minimal extra effort and make this estimator even more efficient when it comes to estimation of individual cell size than many of the previous local estimators. We demonstrate the principle of the optical rotator in an example (the cells in the dorsal root ganglion of the rat), evaluate its efficiency and compare it with other unbiased, local stereological principles available for estimation of cell volume and surface area.