Descriptive and morphometric anatomy of the architectural framework of microcirculation: a Videocapillaroscopic study on healthy adult subjects.

Conventional Capillaroscopy allows the observation of a limited number of areas, classically the fingernail-fold. Videocapillaroscopy, on the contrary, can be performed on any part of the skin and of clinically accessible mucosae. The aim of the present paper was to investigate the architectural frameworks of microcirculation in the various regions of the body and their morphometric parameters in healthy adult subjects. Our findings showed four basic architectural patterns plus two special patterns. The calibre of capillary loops ranged from 15 to 20 micrometers, and capillary density ranged from 14 to 30 capillary loops each square millimetre. These findings might be used as normal reference data for future studies.