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Blood vessel, light micrograph
Blood vessel, light micrograph. Typical small venule with very thin wall of endothelium and vessel diameter only 20-40 micrometres. Small venules are identified by the absence of an external layer of smooth muscle which accompanies larger venules to facilitate limited contraction. Erythrocytes (pink) are membrane-bound deformable structures filled with haemoglobin. They are about 7 micrometres in diameter but can deform in passing through the smallest capillaries of 3-4 micrometres. The supporting tissues are fibroblasts, extracellular matrix and collagen. Paraffin section, Masson's trichrome stain. Magnification: x380 when width printed at 10cm., by MICROSCAPE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
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