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THE FINE STRUCTURE OF NORMAL RAT AORTA
Author(s) -
Ham Kathryn N
Publication year - 1962
Publication title -
australian journal of experimental biology and medical science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.999
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1440-1711
pISSN - 0004-945X
DOI - 10.1038/icb.1962.39
Subject(s) - adventitia , elastin , connective tissue , anatomy , basement membrane , fibril , smooth muscle , electron microscope , aorta , endothelium , cytoplasm , chemistry , ultrastructure , extracellular matrix , biophysics , pathology , biology , medicine , biochemistry , physics , endocrinology , optics , cardiology
SUMMARY Normal rat aorta has been examined under the electron microscope. Elastic laminae of the media are relatively smooth on the surfaces adjacent to endothelium or adventitia but highly branched and irregular on the surfaces adjoining muscle cells. In suitably stained preparations, the vesicular character of elastin may be seen. The smooth muscle cells of aortic media differ from those in other organs in their cytoplasmic constituents and in their relations to one another. They attach to neighbouring elastic laminae by morphologically characteristic devices but have no such attachment to adjoining muscle cells. The connective tissue spaces among cells contain many collagen fibrils and fragments of elastin. The endothelium rests on a narrow connective tissue space containing fine fibrils and has no basement membrane. Otherwise it resembles endothelium in smaller vessels. The adventitia is composed chiefly of large collagen fibres interspersed with a few capillaries and fibroblasts.