An X-ray Microscopic Study of the Normal Root of Neck Arteries in Man.

Little reference could be found in the literature to the vasa vasorum in the root of neck arteries in man. The main paper is by Lowenberg and Shumacker (1948), who demonstrated the differences in vascular patterns between arterial and venous vasa in canine carotid arteries by staining red cells with benzidene and concluded that this method would be suitable for investigating the role of the vasa vasorum in arterial repair and transplantation. An account of the examination of the vascular patterns and distribution in the wall of the human root of neck arteries will be given, using the Coslett-Nixon x-ray projection microscope. This gives an opportunity of examining the vasa vasorum in full thickness arterial wall without histological preparation, in contrast to the routine injection, clearing, and histological techniques for examining capillary beds by previous investigators (Pickworth, 1934; O'Neill, 1947; Williams, 1948; Scharrer, 1950; and Woerner, 1959).