Stray-Pedersen S, Nicolaysen A
Acta Physiol Scand. 1975 Jul;94(3):339-57. doi: 10.1111/j.1748-1716.1975.tb05894.x.
The capillaries of the counter-current capillary organ, rete mirabile, have been studied by light microscopy and electron microscopy. The vasculature of this rete was found to have a cross-sectional area of about 5.25 mm2, and it consisted of 34,000 efferent (=arterial) and 22,000 afferent (=venous) capillaries. The total surface area was the same for the two types of capillaries. The capillary endothelial cells showed numerous pinocytotic vesicles, scattered giant vacuoles and cytoplasmic extrusions (microvilli) at the luminal surface. The majority of the intercellular junctions appeared to have patent gaps with a width of 110-120 A. The arterial capillaries appeared in many ways to be morphologically similar to skeletal muscle capillaries of mammals, whereas the fenestrated venous capillaries resembled those in the intestinal mucosa of mammals. Measurements of the ionic composition of the rete tissue indicated that the endothelial cells contained much less K+ than other cells, the rete containing approximately equimolar amounts of K+ and Na+. The functional significance of the structural and chemical observations are discussed.
利用光学显微镜和电子显微镜对逆流毛细血管器官——奇静脉网的毛细血管进行了研究。发现该奇静脉网的脉管系统横截面积约为5.25平方毫米，由34,000条传出（=动脉）毛细血管和22,000条传入（=静脉）毛细血管组成。两种类型的毛细血管总表面积相同。毛细血管内皮细胞在管腔表面显示出大量的胞饮小泡、散在的巨大液泡和细胞质突起（微绒毛）。大多数细胞间连接似乎有宽度为110 - 120埃的开放间隙。动脉毛细血管在许多方面在形态上与哺乳动物的骨骼肌毛细血管相似，而有孔的静脉毛细血管则类似于哺乳动物肠黏膜中的毛细血管。对奇静脉网组织离子组成的测量表明，内皮细胞所含的钾离子比其他细胞少得多，奇静脉网所含的钾离子和钠离子数量大致相等。讨论了这些结构和化学观察结果的功能意义。
