Microcirculation of left atrial muscle, cerebral cortex and mesentery of the cat. A comparative analysis.

Abstract

By means of transillumination (microtransilluminator and light pipe), comparative analyses were carried out on geometry, topography, and morphometry of microcirculation in the cerebral cortex, left atrial muscle, and mesentery of the cat using computer analysis. In addition, specific types of capillary distribution (concurrent, countercurrent, and asymmetric distribution) in these three organs were ascertained from images visualized on films. These parameters were related to their role in tissue oxygen supply. It was found that mean capillary diameter, mean intercapillary distance, total capillary length, and total capillary surface area differed significantly among the three organs. Differences in mean capillary tortuosity between cerebral cortex and left atrial muscle and between left atrial muscle and mesentery also were significant. Mean capillary tortuosity in mesentery and cerebral cortex was of equal magnitude. In the cerebral cortex, a high degree of tortuosity and asymmetric capillary distribution favor tissue oxygenation. A similar situation exists in left atrial muscle, although some concurrent and countercurrent distribution could be detected. In the mesentery, the combination of high capillary tortuosity and concurrent capillary arrangement is unfavorable for tissue oxygenation. Cirv Res 50: 240-249, 1982 IT IS the function of the capillaries to maintain tissue oxygenation constantly and to respond rapidly to changing oxygen demands (Hall

A computational model of hemodynamic parameters in cortical capillary networks

“…Hence, it can be assumed that a few capillary segments of the model are supplied with only plasma. This characteristic of the model confirms the hypothesis of the previous observations on cortical capillary networks in the normal condition that all brain capillaries are perfused with plasma and/or stagnant red blood cells (RBCs) at any one time and that the distribution of red blood cells becomes more homogeneous in response to stimuli that increase cerebral blood flow (Villringer et al, 1994;Akgören and Lauritzen, 1999;Del Zoppo and Mabuchi, 2003). However, there are conflicting findings for distributions of hematocrit and blood flow throughout skeletal capillary networks, which demonstrate a noticeable number of un-perfused capillaries in the normal condition (Tsai and Intaglietta, 1993;Pradhan et al, 2007).…”

“…Many studies have focused on the morphometry of the cortex microcirculation (Chang et al, 1982;Abbott and Bundgaard, 1987;Løkkegaard et al, 2001;Lauwers et al, 2008;Heinzer et al, 2008;Weber et al, 2008). In current study, the validity of the model was assessed using the comprehensive observations on the human cerebral cortex microcirculation of Lauwers et al (2008).…”

A Novel Three‐Dimensional Computer‐Assisted Method for a Quantitative Study of Microvascular Networks of the Human Cerebral Cortex

“…However, many other fields of research could profit from the present method independent of the species or the organ. The study of microvascular geometry is of particular interest since it affects the oxygen supply [12, 17, 23, 45 , 46 ]. These types of quantitative works could be helpful to other investigations in microcirculation, including tumor‐related neovascularization.…”

Changes in Brain Capillary Diameter during Hypocapnia and Hypercapnia

“…Pawlik et al (1981) measured a mean (± SD) value of 5.1 ± 0.8 /-Lm in cats with significant interregional variations. Chang et al (1982), using the same in vivo transillumination technique as Pawlik et al (1981), measured a capillary diameter of 6.0 ± 1.5 /-Lm in the cerebral cortex of the rat. The values of capillary diameter obtained in the present study were in close agreement with these in vivo values.…”