Histotopography and composition of the microcirculatory bed of the sciatic nerve in the rat

By means of macro-microscopical preparation methods, horseradish peroxidase injection, semithin sections, electron microscopy histotopography and composition of microvessels of the sciatic nerve have been studied in 20 mature male white rats. The perineural membrane has been stated to have no its own vascular network. In composition of the sciatic nerve and its large branches muscular venules are revealed; they run longitudinally along the whole length of the endoneural space and are tributaries of the epineural veins. A suggestion is made that presence of the contractile apparatus in the venular wall can play an important role in formation of the postcapillary resistance, regulating the hydrostatic pressure value in the lumen of endoneural capillaries ad intensity of liquor filtration into the interstitial space.