The capillary bed in the choroid plexus of the lateral ventricles: a study of luminal casts.

Micro-angioarchitecture of the choroid plexus of the lateral ventricles is investigated in microcorrosion casts of animal and human preparations studied with the scanning electron microscope. The capillary bed in the diverse regions of the tissue belongs to one of three patterns: (1)-a network of capillary meshes that envelop the larger arteries and veins predominates in the central segment. (2)-in the villous regions a "leaf-like" organization of sinusoids is found together with (3)-fronds of "glomerular" formations. "Glomeruli" are formed when arterial afferents and venous efferents converge in a quasi hilar structure before branching in arterio-venous loops. Nodular thickenings are observed on glomerular capillaries. The preparations studied (rat, dog, human) are remarkably similar and differ mostly in degree of occurrence of common architectural patterns. Arterio-venous communications are found at the hilus of human glomerular formations.