Capillarity in rat skeletal muscle: effects of rapid freezing versus perfusion fixation.

We determined the effects of rapid freezing and perfusion fixation on fiber geometry and capillarity in rat skeletal muscle. Fiber areas were significantly decreased, and capillary densities significantly increased, in perfusion-fixed versus quick-frozen muscle. Significant differences in capillary-to-fiber ratios were not observed, suggesting that differences in fiber geometry, not the methods of quantifying capillaries, accounted for the differences in capillary density. We conclude that estimates of fiber geometry, capillarity, and diffusive gas conductances obtained from perfusion-fixed muscles are subject to significant error due to shrinkage.