Structural changes in blood vessels entering the growth plate during growth in rats

Abstract

Summary. We observed the structural changes in blood vessels entering the growth plates of the femur and tibia of rats during growth using scanning electron microscopy. The penetrating vessels had blind endings which were bulbous at a time when rats showed rapid skeletal development. With subsequent slowing of development, the density of the vessels decreased and the blind endings became short stumps. These changes were more prominent in the proximal femur than in the distal femur and proximal tibia. The present study indicates an intimate relation between endochondral ossification in the growth plate and the structure of the penetrating vessels.Re Âsume Â. En utilisant la microscopie e Âlectronique a Á balayage les auteurs ont fait l'e Âtude ultrastructurale des vaisseaux sanguins entrant dans les plaques de croissance des fe Âmurs et des tibias chez des rats pendant la croissance. Les vaisseaux perforants avaient des boucles terminales de structure bulbeuse quand le de Âveloppement squelettique des rats e Âtait intense. Avec le de Âclin du de Âveloppement, la densite  des vaisseaux a diminue  avec des terminaisons en moignon. Ces changements ont e Âte  plus marque Âs au fe Âmur proximal qu'au fe Âmur distal et au tibia proximal. Cette e Âtude montre un rapport intime entre l'ossification enchondrale des plaques de croissance et la structure des vaisseaux perforants.

In vivo delivery of fluoresceinated dextrans to the murine growth plate: Imaging of three vascular routes by multiphoton microscopy

“…Morgan (1959) also demonstrated that a ring vessel feeds into a lattice-work plexus positioned asymmetrically over the distal half of the growth plate (hypertrophic zone cartilage), making connections to both the metaphyseal and epiphyseal circulations (Irving, 1964). Analyses using scanning electron microscopy of corrosion casts have allowed a third dimension to visualization, but have not challenged the basic concept of the termination pattern of vasculature routes associated with the growth plate (for examples, see Arsenault, 1987;Hunter and Arsenault, 1990;Stanka et al, 1991;Aharinejad et al, 1995;Komuta, et al, 1998). …”

Resistance of Epiphyseal Cartilage to Invasion by Osteosarcoma Is Likely to Be Due to Expression of Antiangiogenic Factors

“…Finally, the hypertrophic zone, which is closest to the metaphysis, contains chondrocytes that undergo terminal differentiation, cease replication, and enlarge as their cytoplasmic volume swells. This zone plays a key role in the physiological process of endochondral ossification, where vascular invasion at the base of the growth plate stimulates the replacement of cartilage by bone [6][7][8].…”

Characterising neovascularisation in fracture healing with laser Doppler and micro-CT scanning

“…Standard histology uses staining to visualise tissue types or tissue components (such as smooth muscle or endothelial cells) in the fracture callus and surrounding tissue [3, 21, 32, 42]. Immunohistochemistry techniques label proteins particular to blood vessels, such as VEGF and CD31, to identify regions of angiogenesis and quantify small vessels [22, 28, 36].…”

“…Capillary proliferation around the fracture site has been demonstrated by micro-angiography [29], and vascular budding adjacent to the fracture defect was revealed with contrast perfused histological sections [23]. Electron microscopy [21, 23, 38, 46] and intra-vital microscopy [47, 49] provide high-resolution images that can indicate fine details of the angiogenesis process, such as changes in cell morphology, gene expression or endothelial cell activity. These techniques can indicate fine details of the vessel structure and distribution, but most are two-dimensional and static, providing little quantitative information on blood flow.…”