The vascular network supporting the islets of Langerhans represents a highly specialised system arterioles, capillaries and venules. Several features islet vasculature (density fenestration capillaries) ensure rapid exchange nutrients hormones, which is central to islets' capacity control systemic metabolism via reciprocal changes insulin glucagon secretion. Here we discuss how in blood flow ma...

To evaluate the variations of capillary ealibers and those of basal lamina (BL), pericytes, endothelium, and lumen within a sample of skeletal muscle and among samples from different anatomic sites, areas occupied by total capillary cross sections, by the lumen, endothelium, pericytes, and BL were measured on electron micrographs. Twenty capillary cross sections from each of the 41 specimens of...

A brief survey is given of current views correlating the ultrastructural and permeability characteristics of capillaries. Observations based on the use of peroxidase (mol wt 40,000), as an in vivo, and colloidal lanthanum, as an in vitro, ultrastructural tracer, are presented. In capillaries with "continuous" endothelium, the endothelial intercellular junctions are thought to be permeable to th...

The pattern of subepithelial vessels in pulmonary alveoli of rabbits has been studied using scanning electron microscopy. Alveolar capillaries form a network of interconnecting vascular rings, most of which surround the periphery of type II cells of the alveolar epithelium. Individual capillaries contributing to the formation of adjacent rings follow a corrugated course with angulations located...