Stereoscopic scanning electron microscopy of the red pulp of dog spleen with special reference to the terminal structure of the cordal capillaries.

In order to obtain direct morphological information about the three-dimensional fine structure of the splenic terminal vascular bed, especially the terminating mode of the cordal capillaries, stereoscopic scanning electron microscopy of perfusion-fixed and freeze-fractured red pulp of a normal dog spleen was undertaken. An improved method of perfusion-fixation was utilized in which the hydrostatic pressures of the splenic artery and vein were maintained at approximately the same levels as those in the living state. Stereoscopic observations of scanning electron micrographs clearly demonstrated the three-dimensional fine architecture of the splenic sinuses, the spongy cordal reticular tissue and the intracordal vasculature. The cordal capillaries terminate in the labyrinthine cordal space according to a certain mode in which the walls of the terminals are transformed into a meshwork structure continuous with the cordal reticular tissue owing to an increase in number and size of fenestrations. No evidence could be detected to prove or suggest any direct continuity of the capillary end with the splenic sinus. These results strongly support the concept of an "open circulation", at least in the red pulp of the dog spleen, with the possibility of a "functionally closed circulation" under some physiological conditions.