The lung in closeview: a corrosion casting study on the vascular system of human foetal trachea

Abstract

T Th he e l lu un ng g i in n c cl lo os se ev vi ie ew w: : a a c co or rr ro os si io on n c ca as st ti in ng g s st tu ud dy y o on n t th he e v va as sc cu u--l la ar r s sy ys st te em m o of f h hu um ma an n f fo oe et ta al l t tr ra ac ch he ea a ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to examine the tracheal vasculature in 5 month human foetuses, and to determine whether it differs from that previously described by other authors for adult human trachea. The vascular bed was visualized using the technique of corrosion casting and examined by scanning electron microscopy.The arrangement of larger vessels: longitudinal tracheo-oesophageal arteries and veins, as well as their segmental branches running circumferentially in the intercartilaginous spaces, was similar to that observed in the trachea of adults. However, no blood sinuses reported to occur in the submucous venular plexus of the human trachea could be found in the foetuses. It is postulated that the possible functions of such sinuses acting as the capacitance system are related to the functional respiratory tract; hence, this vascular specialization is not yet developed in the foetus.

Angiogenesis in costal cartilage graft laryngotracheoplasty: A corrosion casting study in piglets

“…The normal vascular anatomy of control tracheas revealed two large longitudinal vessels along the posterior aspect of the trachea, giving rise to circumferential branches connected by vertical branches that penetrated to form a plexus of fine capillaries on the lumenal side. Although the present study is the first to describe porcine tracheal vasculature, it has been described previously in human fetuses, guinea pigs, sheep, and dogs . Similarities between porcine and human tracheal vasculature suggest that results from the present study may be translatable to human patients.…”

Corrosion casting of the subglottis following endotracheal tube intubation injury: A pilot study in Yorkshire piglets

“…Even though our study is the first to describe this vascular network in pigs, it has been described previously in human fetuses, guinea pigs, sheep, and dogs [14-17]. The regularly spaced circumferential branches in humans traverse the intercartilaginous spaces, where they provide small branches to the superficial perichondrial vascular bed and then further ramify to pierce the tracheal wall and supply the microcirculation of its mucosal lining [14]. Anatomical similarities between porcine and human tracheal vasculature suggest that results from our study may be translatable to human patients.…”

The Microvascular Anatomy of the Trachea in Adult Xenopus laevis Daudin (Lissamphibia; Anura): Scanning Electron Microscopy of Vascular Corrosion Casts and Correlative Light Microscopy

“…In dog and sheep, the subepithelial capillaries of the tracheal mucosa are irregularly arranged (Hill et al, 1989;Laitinen et al, 1989). In the human fetus (Strek et al, 1994) and in the rat (Lametschwandtner et al, 1983), capillaries in the membranous part (pars membranacea) are arranged longitudinally and capillary meshes in the cartilaginous part (pars fibrocartilaginea) are irregularly orientated, whereas in adult Xenopus, the subepithelial capillary bed consists of irregularly shaped, wide reticular capillary meshes with no obvious differences in the microvascular pattern between membranous and cartilaginous parts of the trachea. The unique wide reticular capillary meshes of the trachea in Xenopus indicate that the tracheal lumen can enlarge without severely compromising subepithelial capillary blood flow.…”