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<b>SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE STUDY OE SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS IN THE MESENTERIC VEINS OF THE </b><b>MONKEY </b>

1983; Allied Academies; Volume: 4; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2220/biomedres.4.225

1880-313X

Takashi Fujiwara, Masahito Ikeuchi, Yasuo Uehara,

The smooth muscle cells of the monkey mesenteric veins (100 to 300 pm in diameter) were examined with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) after removal of connective tissue components by HCI hydrolysis.The muscle cells of the outer media were diagonally or longitudinally oriented to form a loose and irregular network which was attached to and intermingled with the inner circular muscle layer.The outer muscle cells were often branched in ribbon-like structures, flattened in the radial direction of the vessel with a maximum width of 6 to 8 pm, and ranging from 40 to 100 /rm in length.The inner muscle cells were less branched and were thinner than the outer muscle cells with a maximum diameter of less than 5 /rm.Various types of intercellular contacts were observed; contacts with interdigitation, which are possibly the site of mechanical attachment, contacts with squamous cell processes, and direct linear contacts, either or both of which may represent gap-junctions.The findings are discussed in relation to the functional characteristics of the venous smooth muscle.