title: Evidence for endothelial junctions acting as a fluid flux pathway in tensioned periodontal ligament.
abstract: A continuous tension load of 1.0 N applied to the rat maxillary first molar for 30 min led to a significant increase (p < 0.05) in the mean number of junctions/microns of endothelial perimeter. The mean number of junctions/microns was compared with the mean number of tissue channels/microns 2 as previously reported by fitting linear and quadratic equations. An increase in the mean number of junctions/microns was associated with an increase in mean number of tissue channels/microns 2 (p < 0.01) in control and experimental periodontal ligament. Significant increases in the mean number of junctions/microns occurred in the middle-third zone for venous capillaries (p < 0.01) and in the tooth-third zone for postcapillary-sized venules (p < 0.001). It is concluded that the endothelial junctions of venous capillaries and postcapillary-sized venules provide significant pathways for fluid transport across the tensioned walls of the microvascular bed of the periodontal ligament.
authors: Department of Dentistry, University of Adelaide, SA.
authors: M P
authors: MP
authors: Tang
authors: M R
authors: MR
authors: Sims
authors: W J
authors: WJ
authors: Sampson
authors: C W
authors: CW
authors: Dreyer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002199:Capillary Permeability; D003799:Dental Stress Analysis; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D010513:Periodontal Ligament / Q000098:blood supply*; D051381:Rats