Method for determining the current state of cells (11, 111, 112, 114, 113) in cell regions, which may comprise undamaged intact cells, partly damaged cells (112, 114) and/or totally damaged cells, wherein the current state of a cell (112, 114) is defined by a combination of individual states of morphological structure and the biochemical state of the cell at the same time and represents the state of the cell (112, 114) with a state position (36, 39) in an existence state scale, which reaches from a cell with an undamaged intact position to a cell with a total damage position as extreme state cells, characterized by the following steps: - scanning and/or recording a spectroscopic image of the cell region using a pixel spectral camera, at least by way of a microscope, - converting the images from the pixel spectral camera into digitized data records, - storing the digitized data records in a memory unit disposed downstream of the pixel spectral camera, - processing and evaluating the data records transferred from the memory unit in an evaluation unit, - displaying the evaluated cell region on a display unit linked to the evaluation unit, wherein the following steps are carried out in the evaluation unit: - determining the state of the cell forms and of the cellular structure of the cells (11, 111, 112, 114, 113) from the data records as definable morphological structure information assigned to the cell states, - ascertaining absorption bands (13, 14, 15) in a wavelength range in which, at least, an absorbance E(λ) of cytochrome c is present, from the data records, - ascertaining the form and the change in intensity and wavelength of characteristic absorption bands (14, 15) of cells (112, 114, 113) with a modified state in relation to the reference absorption band of the intact cells by way of the detected cytochrome c as definable biochemical absorption data assigned to the cell state, - forming a combination of the morphological structure information and the biochemical absorption data in a correlation unit for representing the current state (37, 36, 39, 38) of the cells (11, 111, 112, 114, 113) and - transmitting the current state (37, 36, 39, 38) of the cells (11, 111, 112, 114, 113) into the display unit, wherein the state (37, 36, 39, 38) of the cells (111, 112, 113, 114) in terms of the cellular structure thereof and in terms of the cell form thereof and spectroscopically localized areas of the cell region with the molecularly modified oxidation states of the cytochrome c are output from the evaluation unit into the display unit, wherein at least changes in the oxidation states of the cytochrome c are read from the comparison of the characteristic absorption band (14, 15) and the reference absorption band, from which changes in the oxidation states of the cytochrome c the current state (37, 36, 39, 38) of a cell (111, 112, 113, 114) may be derived. - scanning and/or recording a spectroscopic image of the cell region using a pixel spectral camera, at least by way of a microscope, - converting the images from the pixel spectral camera into digitized data records, - storing the digitized data records in a memory unit disposed downstream of the pixel spectral camera, - processing and evaluating the data records transferred from the memory unit in an evaluation unit, - displaying the evaluated cell region on a display unit linked to the evaluation unit, - determining the state of the cell forms and of the cellular structure of the cells (11, 111, 112, 114, 113) from the data records as definable morphological structure information assigned to the cell states, - ascertaining absorption bands (13, 14, 15) in a wavelength range in which, at least, an absorbance E(λ) of cytochrome c is present, from the data records, - ascertaining the form and the change in intensity and wavelength of characteristic absorption bands (14, 15) of cells (112, 114, 113) with a modified state in relation to the reference absorption band of the intact cells by way of the detected cytochrome c as definable biochemical absorption data assigned to the cell state, - forming a combination of the morphological structure information and the biochemical absorption data in a correlation unit for representing the current state (37, 36, 39, 38) of the cells (11, 111, 112, 114, 113) and - transmitting the current state (37, 36, 39, 38) of the cells (11, 111, 112, 114, 113) into the display unit,