BLOOD-FLOW PATTERNS IN THE RAT PANCREAS - A SIMULATIVE DEMONSTRATION BY INJECTION REPLICATION AND SCANNING ELECTRON-MICROSCOPY

Scanning electron microscopy of vascular casts prepared by arterial in jections of intentionally reduced amounts of resin showed that in the rat pancreas, the casting medium fills blood capillaries in the endocr ine islets more promptly than those in the exocrine lobules and secret ory ducts. Furthermore, the exocrine lobules containing endocrine isle ts allowed a more rapid resin flow through the insulo-acinar portal ro ute than those lobules lacking an islet. The capillaries of secretory ducts were the last portions to be filled with resin. Since the resin used in this study was as viscous as blood and injected under a physio logical pressure, the microcirculatory patterns demonstrated by the pr esent method reflect the physiological flow pattern of blood in the pa ncreas. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.