Vascular Casting of Adult and Early Postnatal Mouse Lungs for Micro-CT Imaging.

ABSTRACT: Blood vessels form intricate networks in 3-dimensional space. Consequently, it is difficult to visually appreciate how vascular networks interact and behave by observing the surface of a tissue. This method provides a means to visualize the complex 3-dimensional vascular architecture of the lung. To accomplish this, a catheter is inserted into the pulmonary artery and the vasculature is simultaneously flushed of blood and chemically dilated to limit resistance. Lungs are then inflated through the trachea at a standard pressure and the polymer compound is infused into the vascular bed at a standard flow rate. Once the entire arterial network is filled and allowed to cure, the lung vasculature may be visualized directly or imaged on a micro-CT (µCT) scanner. When performed successfully, one

SUBMITTER: Knutsen RH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8284398 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature