Acta physiologica Scandinavica. Supplementum
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Acta Physiol Scand Suppl · Jan 1983
Microvascular blood flow distribution in skeletal muscle. An intravital microscopic study in the rabbit.
Distribution patterns of the microvascular blood flow and interactions of various microvascular elements were studied in the tenuissimus muscle of the rabbit with the aid of intravital microscopy. The modified technique employed permitted observation, with high resolution, of the microcirculation in the tenuissimus muscle in situ, with only minor surgical preparation and incision. Preparation and exposure of the muscle for vital microscopy did not alter the resting blood flow and did not limit the normal range of vascular control. ⋯ A majority of the transverse arterioles also supplied, in addition to the muscle capillaries, the connective tissue. The distribution of the arteriolar flow between these two vascular areas was determined by the interaction between the larger transverse and smaller terminal arterioles and their relative contributions to the vascular resistance. The terminal arterioles were clearly more responsive than the transverse arterioles to changes in ambient oxygen availability.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)