Abstract  Intracellular water plays a critical role in apoptotic and necrotic cell death. We describe a method for quantifying cell water by application of two previously described variants of transmission microscopy. By taking two axially displaced brightfield images, the phase shift of the transmitted wave was computed using the transport‐of‐intensity equation. At the same time, cell thickness was determined by transmission through an externally applied dye (“transmission‐through‐dye” microscopy); switching between these two imaging modalities was accomplished by simply changing the illumination wavelength. The sets of data thus obtained allow computation of the refractive index and cell water content within individual cells. The method was illustrated using cells treated with apoptotic agents staurosporine and actinomycin D and with necrosis inducer ionomycin. Water imaging allows discrimination between apoptotic volume decrease due to dehydration from that due to detachment of apoptotic bodies and can be used on samples where cell volume determination alone would be difficult or insufficient. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved