Clinical Investigation of Skin Microcirculation

Abstract

Skin microcirculation is rather complex. The skin viability depends upon the nutritional circulation, which cannot be assessed by conventional macrocirculatory methods that evaluate total blood supply. The indisputable advantage of the microcirculatory methods is to provide information directly in diseased skin areas and assess the effectiveness of vasoactive drugs where they are supposed to act. Several techniques are available today to evaluate the skin microcirculation. Among them, capillaroscopy and transcutaneous measurement of the partial oxygen pressure are of special interest because they provide information which is directly useful in clinical practice. Other techniques remain experimental. In this paper, the main microcirculatory techniques are reviewed and their clinical implications discussed.

Acute skin trauma induces hyperemia, but superficial papillary nutritive perfusion remains unchanged

“…A hand‐held digital microscope (Mediscope, D1; Optilia, Sollentuna, Sweden), with a 200× lens and LED illumination was used. At this magnification, blood cell aggregates separated by plasma gaps are easily distinguishable in the capillaries . The field of view with the current setup was 1.4 times 1.05 mm, respectively.…”

Videocapillaroscopic alterations in erythematotelangiectatic rosacea

“…6,8 Capillaroscopy has been considered superior to indirect technique (eg, laser-Doppler, trans cutaneous PO 2 ) for the clinical investigation of cutaneous microcirculation in various skin diseases. [9][10][11][12] In this study, we have used the videocapillaroscopic technique to evaluate qualitative and quantitative microvessel alterations of facial rosacea and compared them with those of seborrheic dermatitis.…”

Capillaroscopy and videocapillaroscopy assessment of skin microcirculation: dermatologic and cosmetic approaches

“…Capillaries then converge into collecting systems of the venous plexus. The vascular network of the skin varies considerably from one area to another 3,4 …”

“…The vascular network of the skin varies considerably from one area to another. 3,4 In most body areas, the vascular morphology shows differences (Table 1). Line and network forms dominate on the forehead and crow's feet at the eyes, the dot and comma ruled on the dorsum of the hand 5 while both types occurred equally on the inner forearm.…”