Subsets of volume data are sequentially stored for volume rendering from
two dimensional textures. For example, pairs of adjacent two-dimensional
images are loaded into RAM or cache. Strips of texture data are
interpolated for polygons extending between the two-dimensional images.
The strips or polygons are more orthogonal to a viewing direction than
the two-dimensional images. After interpolating texture data from the
two-dimensional images for a plurality of non-coplanar polygons, the
texture data is rendered. The rendered information represents one portion
of the three dimensional representation. Other portions are rendered by
repeating the process for other pairs or subset groups of adjacent
two-dimensional images. A lower cost apparatus, such as a programmed
computer or a GPU with a limited amount of memory, is able to render
images for three dimensional representations of very large
three-dimensional arrays. The images may be rendered without copying
volume data for different main axes.