At the level of the capillaries, the systemic circulation loses 2 to 4 L fluid and 100 g protein into the interstitium daily. This ultrafiltrate of the systemic capillaries is returned to the circulatory system by the lymphatics. The lymphatic vasculature is highly specialized to perform this service, beginning with the blind-ended lymphatic capillaries. These vessels are highly permeable to pr...

The influence of acute hypoxia (respiration gas 12%, 10%, and 8% O2 and asphyxia, respectively) on 1) the density of perfused capillaries and muscle fibers, and 2) the capillary red cell distribution was investigated in the left heart of anesthetized rats. To observe capillaries and fibers, fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled (FITC)-gamma-globulin and lissamine-rhodamine-B200-labeled (RB200) myo...

While structure and function of precapillary sphincter cells were assured in skin capillaries it is unclear whether segmental reduction of capillary lumina can occur in human capillaries. It has been shown that endothelial cells are able to exert dynamical reactions. Since the first description of the vascular endothelium a great variety of findings were described concerning the active role of ...

PURPOSE To establish adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscopy as a method to detect and characterize microscopic signs of diabetic retinopathy in capillaries and cone photoreceptors in the parafovea. METHODS Recently, adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope (AOSLO) has enabled noninvasive assessment of photoreceptors, capillaries, and leukocytes in the retinas of live human subject...

The trypsin digestion technique for preparing flat mounts of the retinal capillary system was modified for comparable mounts of the cerebrocortical capillaries. These preparations, supplemented by electron microscopy, showed a basic similarity between the 2 systems, but the cortical capillaries have larger diameters, more abundant collateral channels, and less regularly spaced mural cells (intr...

The lymphatic system is crucial for efficient immune surveillance and for maintenance of a physiological pressure in the interstitial space. Even so, almost no information is available concerning the lymph drainage of the islets of Langerhans in the human pancreas. Immunohistochemical staining allowed us to distinguish lymphatic capillaries from blood capillaries. Almost no lymphatic capillarie...

In this morphological study of the effects of training on myocardial capillaries, four week old Wistar rats were selected to accept four months of treadmill training. The rats were then sacrificed for morphological study of myocardial capillaries by means of perfused Chinese ink, AKP stain and ultrathin section methods. The results showed that the number of capillaries in trained rats was incre...