Glycol methacrylate-embedding medium to study morphological alterations of saphenous vein under brief and crescent pressurizations.
OBJECTIVE
This study sought to evaluate the efficiency of glycol methacrylate-embedding medium to detect morphological alterations of human saphenous vein submitted to brief and crescent pressurizations.


METHODS
Saphenous veins of 20 CABG patients were randomly distributed into four experimental groups (control, 100, 200 and 300 mmHg pressures during 15 seconds). To quantify the percentage of endothelium spread over vein surface a microscope magnification of 100x was used for measurements. Morphometric analysis was performed using videomicroscopy with the Leica Qwin software in conjunction with a Leica microscope, videocamera, and an on-line computer.


RESULTS
A slight tendency of quantitative increase was observed in all parameters including percentage of endothelium spread over vein surface and thickness of saphenous vein walls (intima and media layers).


CONCLUSIONS
The glycol methacrylate-embedding allowed sections with adequate resolution of structural details and revealed to be an extremely useful method to study pressurized human saphenous veins.
Department of Pathology, Ribeirão Preto Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Cibele M
CM
Prado
Fernanda
F
Viaro
Caroline F
CF
Baldo
Viviane dos Santos
Vdos S
Augusto
Alfredo José
AJ
Rodrigues
Paulo Roberto Barbosa
PR
Evora
D006801:Humans; D008689:Methacrylates; D018715:Microscopy, Video / Q000379:methods; D016613:Plastic Embedding / Q000379:methods*; D011312:Pressure; D012501:Saphenous Vein / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D017539:Tunica Intima / Q000648:ultrastructure*
D008689:Methacrylates; C005044:hydroxyethyl methacrylate