[Practical importance of capillary microscopy].

Vital capillaroscopy has been successfully used for many years to study the microcirculation of human skin capillaries. The presence of typical capillary abnormalities is helpful in distinguishing scleroderma from other connective tissue diseases. Application of a local cold exposure test to finger nailfold capillary microscopy reveals the functional difference between normal subjects and patients with Raynaud's syndrome on the level of the microcirculation. Transcutaneous intravital fluorescence videomicroscopy may be helpful in the sometimes difficult differential diagnosis of lower limb edema. Microlymphangiography offers a new approach to depiction of the intravital anatomy of human lymphatic skin capillaries. Further the technique of intravital fluorescence videomicroscopy provides a noninvasive method of studying morphologic and functional abnormalities in diabetic microangiopathy.