[Quantitative comparison of the ultrastructures of the blood capillaries and muscle fibers in all stages of obliterating endarteritis].

The time course of quantitative changes in the ultrastructure of capillaries and muscle fibrers was studied by the totality of morphological signs in 33 patients with obliterating endarteritis of the lower extremities. As the disease develops, the area of luminal surface and the volume of basal membrane of the capillaries and mitochondria of muscle fibers increase progressively; the volume and number of micropinocytotic vesicles, the volume of myofibrills and the ratio of myofibrill to the mitochondria volume decrease. In early stages of the disease the size of capillary lumen decreases and subsequently increases along with a decrease in the volume of endothelial cells. An increase in the number of mitochondria in a unit of area of muscle fiber at early stages with subsequent decrease was noted. All the values of observed changes are statistically significant. None of the examined features of the structure can be considered pathognomonic separately, but the totality of the quantitative alterations gives a whole picture of the progressive disease.