Introduction: Exercise training increases skeletal muscle capillary density, but the molecular mechanisms of this process are not yet clear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of acute long- term submaximal exercise on serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) as the main angiogenic factor, and matrix metalloproteinases 2 and 9 ( MMP-2 and MMP-9), as the degradi...

A theoretical model is developed to simulate the flow of blood through the capillary network in a single alveolar septum. The objective is to study the influence of random variability in capillary dimension and compliance on flow patterns and pressures within the network. The capillary bed is represented as an interconnected rectangular grid of capillary segments and junctions; blood flow is pr...

Individual pulmonary capillaries are not steadily perfused. By using in vivo microscopy, it can readily be demonstrated that perfusion continually switches between capillary segments and between portions of the network within a single alveolar wall. These changes in capillary perfusion occur even when upstream pressure and flow are constant. Flow switching between capillary segments in the abse...

Arterial hypertension is known to be an important risk factor for cerebral and cardiovascular disease. Previous studies in rats have demonstrated that changes in both capillary density and vessel diameter may contribute to increased vascular resistance in hypertension. In vivo studies of human subjects with essential hypertension revealed a reduction in the number of arterioles in the skin and ...

A new method has been developed to simultaneously and regionally determine various morphometric indices of the perfused and total capillary network in rat brain on a quantitative basis. A high molecular weight dextran, labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC), was injected into the femoral vein of a barbiturate anesthetized rat. After 20 seconds, the animal was decapitated and the head fr...

Three-dimensional reconstruction of the human heart was performed to define the structure of the intramyocardial microvasculature. A total of 200 consecutive serial sections of 6 μm each were prepared from the left ventricular tissue of an autopsied human heart with normal coronary arteries. The corresponding arteriole, venule, and all capillaries were reconstructed using three-dimensional soft...

An explanatory computational model is developed of the contiguous areas of retinal capillary loss which play a large role in diabetic maculapathy and diabetic retinal neovascularization. Strictly random leukocyte mediated capillary occlusion cannot explain the occurrence of large contiguous areas of retinal ischemia. Therefore occlusion of an individual capillary must increase the probability o...

The mechanical properties of a suspension can be dramatically altered by adding a small amount of a secondary fluid that is immiscible with the bulk phase. The substantial changes in the strength of these capillary suspensions arise due to the capillary force inducing a percolating particle network. Spatial information on the structure of the particle networks is obtained using confocal microsc...

accurate permeability estimation has always been a concern in determining flow units, assigning appropriate capillary pressure andrelative permeability curves to reservoir rock types, geological modeling, and dynamic simulation.acoustic method can be used as analternative and effective tool for permeability determination. in this study, a four-step approach is proposed for permeability estimati...