Biomaterial Database

[Changes of capillarity and blood flow of skeletal muscle in rat during acclimatization to hypoxia]. 2001

Q Y Huang, and Y Q Gao, and J Q Shi

Department of Pathophysiology and Institute of High Altitude Medicine, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China.

OBJECTIVE To study the changes of capillary density and blood flow of skeletal muscle in rat during acclimatization to hypoxia. METHODS Myosin-ATPase histochemistry was used to assay the size and capillarity of skeletal muscle. Biomicrospheres method was used to determine blood flow in the rats at 5-, 15-or 30-day hypobaric hypoxic exposure (simulated 5 000 m altitude). RESULTS It was found that cross-sectional area of skeletal muscle fibers (including type I and type II) were decreased during acclimatization to hypoxia. Capillary density (CD) was increased in 15-day and 30-day groups but the capillary/fiber ratio (C/F) remained unchanged among all of the groups observed. There was no obvious difference in blood flow between hypoxic rats and control rats. CONCLUSIONS Capillary neoformation does not occur in skeletal muscle of rat during acclimatization to hypobaric hypoxia. Increased capillary density due to atrophy of skeletal muscle fibre might benefit oxygen delivery at high altitude.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D012039	Regional Blood Flow	The flow of BLOOD through or around an organ or region of the body.	Blood Flow, Regional,Blood Flows, Regional,Flow, Regional Blood,Flows, Regional Blood,Regional Blood Flows
D002196	Capillaries	The minute vessels that connect arterioles and venules.	Capillary Beds,Sinusoidal Beds,Sinusoids,Bed, Sinusoidal,Beds, Sinusoidal,Capillary,Capillary Bed,Sinusoid,Sinusoidal Bed
D005260	Female		Females
D000064	Acclimatization	Adaptation to a new environment or to a change in the old.	Acclimation
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D000860	Hypoxia	Sub-optimal OXYGEN levels in the ambient air of living organisms.	Anoxia,Oxygen Deficiency,Anoxemia,Deficiency, Oxygen,Hypoxemia,Deficiencies, Oxygen,Oxygen Deficiencies
D017208	Rats, Wistar	A strain of albino rat developed at the Wistar Institute that has spread widely at other institutions. This has markedly diluted the original strain.	Wistar Rat,Rat, Wistar,Wistar Rats
D051381	Rats	The common name for the genus Rattus.	Rattus,Rats, Laboratory,Rats, Norway,Rattus norvegicus,Laboratory Rat,Laboratory Rats,Norway Rat,Norway Rats,Rat,Rat, Laboratory,Rat, Norway,norvegicus, Rattus
D018482	Muscle, Skeletal	A subtype of striated muscle, attached by TENDONS to the SKELETON. Skeletal muscles are innervated and their movement can be consciously controlled. They are also called voluntary muscles.	Anterior Tibial Muscle,Gastrocnemius Muscle,Muscle, Voluntary,Plantaris Muscle,Skeletal Muscle,Soleus Muscle,Muscle, Anterior Tibial,Muscle, Gastrocnemius,Muscle, Plantaris,Muscle, Soleus,Muscles, Skeletal,Muscles, Voluntary,Skeletal Muscles,Tibial Muscle, Anterior,Voluntary Muscle,Voluntary Muscles