title: Angioarchitecture of the ventral surface of the tongue from Wistar rats.
abstract: The goal of this study was to describe the angioarchitecture of the ventral surface of the tongue from Wistar rats using a vascular corrosion casting technique associated with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Six Wistar rats were used for the vascular casting method with Mercox resin. Following the resin polymerization, the tongue of each animal was dissected and corroded in a 5% sodium hydroxide solution. Once the corrosion and drying of the specimens were completed, the specimens were mounted on aluminum stubs, coated with carbon and gold and analyzed under SEM. The results showed that the ventral surface of the tongue presents simple, even and abundant vasculature constituted by a vascular plexus consisting of a superficial vascular network and by the ranine veins. The superficial vascular network, made up of the ascending and descending branches, presents as a loose network, with little morphological variation between the capillary loops.
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Dentistry Program, Dentistry School, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Brazil. flavianaverli@gmail.com
authors.forename: Flaviana Dornela
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Verli
authors.forename: Sandra Aparecida
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Marinho
authors.forename: Tissiana Rachel
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Rossi-Schneider
authors.forename: Liliane Soares
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Yurgel
authors.forename: Maria Antonieta Lopes
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: de Souza
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002196:Capillaries / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D016319:Corrosion Casting; D008297:Male; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning / Q000379:methods; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D014059:Tongue / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D014680:Veins / Q000648:ultrastructure*