[Blood vessels of the respiratory and olfactory mucosa of the rabbit. A light and transmission electron microscopy study].

In our study, light and electron microscopic findings in vessels of the rabbit nasal respiratory and olfactory mucosa are reported. In the respiratory mucosa, most of the subepithelial tissue is occupied by large, sinusoidal veins which usually display oblong profiles in cross sections, while in the olfactory region the venous vessels occur less often and show round profiles. The arterioles are located close to the perichondrium, while the capillaries appear all over the lamina propria in both tissues. Fenestrated and continuous endothelia can be observed in capillaries of both the respiratory and olfactory regions.