These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Microcirculation of the epimyocardial layer of the heart. I. A method for in vivo observation of the microcirculation of superficial ventricular myocardium of the heart and capillary flow pattern under normal and hypoxic conditions.
    Author: Steinhausen M, Tillmanns H, Thederan H.
    Journal: Pflugers Arch; 1978 Dec 15; 378(1):9-14. PubMed ID: 569829.
    Abstract:
    To study microcirculation of the heart in vivo, we developed a new technique of epi-illumination of the beating rat ventricular myocardium. Five tiny needles connected to the operation table were horizontally inserted into the ventricular myocardium just beneath the epicardium in order to restrict cardiac movement during contraction and to enhance the amount of light reflected from the structures under study. The in vivo light and fluorescent microscopy were performed with the Ultropak and the Fluopak systems (Leitz) combined with a highly sensitive television camera and recording system. In 142 individual in vivo measurements (6 animals) the mean capillary diameter amounted to 6.0 +/- 1.0 mu. In the same experiments, the mean intercapillary distance was 18.7 +/- 1.7 mu. In agreement with the literature, the capillaries of the epimyocardial layer of the rat heart demonstrate a mixed countercurrent flow pattern. In contrast to other authors, we observed no recruitment of resting capillaries after hypoxia.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]