Studies on the microvascularization of the digestive tract by scanning electron microscopy of vascular corrosion casts. 1. Large intestine in rats and guinea pigs.

The colonic microvascularization of 10 adult Sprague-Dawley rats and guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus was studied by scanning electron microscopy of microvascular corrosion casts. The tunica muscularis is supplied by branches of the submucosal arteriolar plexus, according to the arrangement of muscle layers, longitudinally and transversally arranged capillaries are distinguished. The mucosal capillaries show a honeycomb pattern and mimic the openings of the mucosal glands. Parallel to the luminal aspect of the large intestine, the mucosal capillary loops often arise from the submucosal arterioles at the most abluminal aspect of the mucosa; however, some arterioles end just subjacent to these capillaries. The submucosal veins are located just subjacent to the capillaries of the lamina propria. The rat and guinea pig colonic vascular architecture revealed no differences, neither did the capillary density in different parts of the large intestine.