Angioarchitecture in experimental hydrocephalus.

The angioarchitecture of microcorrosion casts in 12 hydrocephalic rats and 5 normal control rats was investigated by using scanning electron microscopy to observe the changes of the vascular bed in the cerebral mantle in hydrocephalus. Reduction in the number and caliber of the capillaries in the white matter was the most remarkable change in the hydrocephalic rats. This change increased in proportion to the severity of hydrocephalus. A similar change was observed in the basal ganglia. The change in the cortical capillaries was mild, but the cortical 'palisade' pattern had disappeared in some cases. Three-dimensional consideration of the angioarchitecture by using microvascular casts compared with microangiographic technique in rat hydrocephalus was discussed.