Barry University

SCHOOL OF GRADUATE MEDICAL SCIENCES

GMS 550
HISTOLOGY (2013)
LAB #6
BLOOD VESSELS
Go to www.udel.edu/biology/Wags/histopage/histopage.htm and open Artery & Secretory
Duct under Blood Vessels in Color Histology Images. Note the difference between the
excretory (not secretory) duct on the left, the artery on the right, and the vein at the bottom of the
picture. Compare this cross section of an artery with the longitudinal section of an artery in
Small Artery (Low Mag). Look at the artery and vein in Small Artery-Vein Pair and
compare the vein to the sort of triangular cross section of a lymphatic above the space between
the artery and the vein.
Go to www.slidehosting.com and open slide 33913 (vein, artery, nerve - elastin stain) on p. 4. [If
this doesnt work, go to http://www.path.uiowa.edu/virtualslidebox/ and open the Histology
Atlas. Then open the "Medium sized artery and vein" slide under Blood and Lymphatic
Vessels.]
Find the artery [thicker-walled than the vein. Plate 34 on p.437 of the 6th edition of Ross & Pawlina
and Fig. 2 in Plate 32 on p. 433 may help. The artery (on left) and vein (on right) in the lower
right half of Fig. 18.16 on p. 644 may also help with the comparison.]
Compare the artery to Fig. 13.18 on p. 420 or Fig. 13.27 p. 428. The intima of the artery in Fig.
13.27 has endarterial cushions between the endothelium and the internal elastic lamina.
Be able to identify:
muscular artery
lumen
endothelium [the layer of cells bordering the lumen]
internal elastic lamina [solid line marking inner border of media, darkly stained in this slide]
intima [consisting only of the internal elastic lamina and the endothelium]
smooth muscle cells
media
external elastic lamina [lightly stained line between media and adventitia]]
adventitia [loose connective tissue outside the media]
Now look at the vein [next to the artery, thinner-walled]
Compare it to Fig. 13.24 on p. 426 and 13.29 on p. 429.
Be able to identify:
vein
lumen [empty space inside the vein]
endothelium [the layer of cells bordering the lumen]
intima [consisting only of endothelium]
media [the thin dense layer of smooth muscle surrounding the intima]
adventitia [connective tissue outside the media
muscularis, thicker than the muscularis]
smooth muscle cells [many in media, few in adventitia]

Slide 33913 vein, artery, nerve elastin stain)

Plate 34 p. 437

Fig. 2 in Plate 32 on p. 433

Fig. 18.16 on p. 644

Fig. 13.18 on p. 420

Fig. 13.27 on p. 428

Fig. 13.24 on p. 426

Fig. 13.29 on p. 429

Open slide 33924 (fetal neurovascular bundle) on p. 3. This slide has not been stained for elastin.
Note that the media of the wall of the artery is more compact than the media of the vein. The
internal elastic lamina of the artery is visible as an unstained line between the imtima and the
media. A valve is visible in one vein in this section

Slide 33924 - fetal neurovascular bundle

Open slide 33962 (aorta - elastin stain) on p. 1. [If using Dr. Dees site, open the second "Aorta"
slide under Blood and Lymphatic Vessels.]
Compare this slide to Fig. 13.14 on p. 417 and Plate 33 on p. 434-5 of Ross & Pawlina.
Note the darkly stained elastic laminae that fill the media.
Note the inconspicuous internal elastic lamina
Note that the adventitia is relatively thin.
Be able to identify:
elastic artery
endothelium
intima [the endothelium and the smooth muscle just "outside" it]
internal elastic lamina [a discontinuity between the intima and the media]
media
elastic laminae [in the media]
adventitia
collagen fibers [in the media and adventitia]
vasa vasorum [small blood vessels in the adventitia]

Slide 33962 aorta elastin stain

Fig 13.14 p. 417

Plate 33 p. 434-5

Go back to www.udel.edu/biology/Wags/histopage/histopage.htm. Open Aorta and

Elastic Tissue, and find the unstained elastic laminae (not fibers).

Aorta and Elastic Tissue

Go to www.kumc.edu/instruction/medicine/anatomy/histoweb. Open the second Aorta slide

and note the oddly-stained elastic laminae (not fibers). Open the first Aorta slide and note the
vasa vasorum. Open the first large Vein slide (#3) and note the bundles of longitudinal smooth
muscle in the adventitia. This is a normal vena cava, but the broken internal elastic lamina has
not been stained.

Second Aorta slide - The aorta is an elastic artery. Note the elastic fibers in the tunica media. On the
microscope, close down the condenser and focus through these fibers to identify.

First Aorta slide Low power cross section of the wall of the aorta. The lumen is on top. Notice the
vasa vasorum in the lower tunica adventitia.

First large vein slide - In the large vein, tunica media consists of a few layers of smooth muscle:
many longitudinally arranged smooth muscle bundles (in cross section on this slide) are in tunica
adventitia.

Return to www.slidehosting.com and open slide 33920 (vena cava, cross section) on p. 3 [or return
to http://www.path.uiowa.edu/virtualslidebox/ and open the "Vena cava" slide.]
Compare it to Fig. 13.25 on p. 427.
Compare it to the aorta.
[Dr. Dees vena cava is anomalous: it has an external elastic lamina but no internal elastic
lamina.]
Note the thick intima, poorly separated from the media.
Note the smooth muscle cells, collagen fibers, and elastic fibers in the media.
Note that the adventitia is thicker than the media. Note that adventia contains fascicles (bundles)
of smooth muscle.
Be able to identify:
vena cava
endothelium
intima
media
smooth muscle cells
elastic fibers
collagen fibers
adventitia
fascicles of smooth muscle
vasa vasorum

33920 Vena Cava (Turtox)

Vena Cava - uIowa

Fig. 13.25 p. 427

Open slide 33902 on p. 4. [If using Dr. Dees website, open the second "Vas deferens" slide under
Male Genital Tract.]
Find a superficial vein (any one of the several pampiniform veins in this section, correctly
labelled in Fig 22.25 on p. 809.)
Be able to identify:
adventitia [full of longitudinal fascicles of smooth muscle. The fascicles of longitudinal
smooth muscle distinguish a superficial vein from a muscular artery.]
media [thin layer of circular smooth muscle]
intima
lumen
vein

Slide 33902 human spermatic cord

Fig. 22.25 p. 809

Go to www.lumen.luc.edu/lumen/MedEd/Histo/frames/histo_frames.html. Open Slide 10 under

Cardiovascular System. Compare the arteriole, the venule, and the two lymphatics. Note the
capillary lined by a single endothelial cell near the upper left corner of the picture.
Compare the capillaries in slides 1 and 4 to the venule in Slide 7.
Open Slide 68 under Blood and Capillaries. Find four venules and three capillaries.
Slide 10 - Small blood vessels, with 3-layered walls:
a = small lymphatic with endothelial lining but no other organized wall.
b = small vein (very thin muscle; pale c.t.).
c = small artery (pink muscle; yellow c.t.).
These vessels are often found running together in the c.t. coats of body organs.

Slide 1 - This capillary running through embryonic mesenchyme has a wall consisting solely of a
single layer of endothelium. Notice that the lumen of the vessel is only slightly larger than the
diameter of the r.b.c.'s within.

Slide 4 - A capillary lying in the endomysium between skeletal muscle fibers. This one shows very
dark endothelial nuclei and has 3 pink r.b.c.'s lined up in a row inside.

Slide 7 - Endothelium (simple squamous epithelium) lines the lumen of all blood and lymph
vessels, as well as the heart. Here endothelial nuclei are seen ringing a venule (so identified because
there is only a thin coat of connective tissue outside the endothelium, the lumen is too large to be a
capillary, and because sinusoids don't occur in ordinary connective tissue areas like this.)

Slide 68 - Small blood vessels of various sizes in areolar connective tissue. The two cross-cut
capillaries at center contain erythrocytes and show an endothelial nucleus at the rim. The largest
vessel, at extreme center right, is a venule. All of the vessels shown here are thin-walled and
capable of fluid and ion exchange with the surrounding connective tissue fluid. In addition,
leukocytes can squeeze between endothelial cells of the walls of such vessels (by diapedesis) and
enter the connective tissue. Only when they leave the bloodstream do they assume their active roles.

Go back to www.udel.edu/biology/Wags/histopage/histopage.htm Open Capillary, Arteriole,

Venuleunder Blood Vessels in Color Histology Images. From left to right, you see a vein,
an arteriole, a venule and a capillary.
Open Vein, Valve, 2 and note the valve in the center of the vein. Note the capillary halfway
between the base of the valve and the edge of the picture.

Capillary, Arteriole, Venule

Vein, Valve, 2

Return to http://www.slidehosting.com.
Open slide 33919 on p. 3. (Slide 33958 on p. 1 is equally useful.)
Compare it to Fig. 13.19b on p. 421 or Fig. 1 in Plate 35 on p. 439 of Ross & Pawlina.
Be able to identify:
capillary (Cf. Plates 22 and 24 on pp. 343 and 347.)
endothelial cell
pericyte
Try to find a lymphatic.
Slide 33919 -

Fig 13.19b p.421

Fig. 1 Plate 35 p.439

Plate 22 p.343

Plate 24 p.347

The letter D in Fig. 1 in Plate 45 on p. 521 is inside a lymph capillary. The right arrow in the
center of the bottom of Fig. 1 in Plate 45 crosses a capillary. Compare and contrast the lymph
capillary and the blood capillary. LV in Fig. 2 in Plate 54 on p. 607 points to a lymph capillary.
There is a blood capillary for comparison about 1 cm directly above it. The legend Val is inside a
lymphatic in Fig. 3 in Plate 38 on p. 481. Figs. 3 and 4 in Plate 35 on p. 439 show medium-sized
lymphatics.
Be able to identify:
lymphatic
endothelium

Fig 1 Plate 45 p. 521

Fig 2 Plate 54 p. 607

Fig. 3 in Plate 38 on p. 481

Fig. 3 Plate 35 on p. 439

Fig. 4 Plate 35 on p. 439

The relevant review transparencies in Dr. Wismar's set are 101 through 117.
Dr. Morans tape #11 Circulatory System is helpful.