The Extent of the Capillary Bed of the Heart

By means of injections made into the coronary arteries of beating hearts it has been possible to determine the number of capillaries in the normal heart muscle. This study has shown a very rich blood supply with an average of approximately one capillary for each muscle fibre in the ventricular walls and papillary muscles, and a less abundant supply in the auricular muscle and Purkinje system. The number of capillaries per sq. mm. of ventricular wall or papillary muscle is about twice that found by Krogh in skeletal muscle. Capillaries were not found constantly in the valves of hearts in which there was apparently a complete injection of the capillary bed. The method described for injecting the capillaries of the heart also provides a means of studying the blood supply to the muscle, valves and aortic wall in pathological hearts.