The wall structure of the arteries in the corpora cavernosa penis of rabbits; light and electron microscopy

Fujimoto, Sunao; Takeshige, Yoshio

doi:10.1002/ar.1091810307

Cited by 13 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The paucity of contractile filaments in the epithelioid cells of the cushions of the monkey led to doubts of their importance in promoting vascular resistance (Fujimoto and Takeshige, 1975). While the present study did not examine the ultrastructure of the epithelioid cells, their rather restricted location may indicate that they are normal features of the more distal penile vessels as has been previously suggested (Fugleholm et al, 1989;Banya et al, 1990).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 50%

“…Muscular cushions were found only in the helicine arteries in the rat penis. The paucity of contractile filaments in the epithelioid cells of the cushions of the monkey led to doubts of their importance in promoting vascular resistance (Fujimoto and Takeshige, 1975). While the present study did not examine the ultrastructure of the epithelioid cells, their rather restricted location may indicate that they are normal features of The CCP is a closed system with venous drainage occurring a t a limited site (i.e., crural veins at the hilar area).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 70%

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The vasculature of the rat penis: A scanning electron microscopic and histologic study

et al. 1991

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As a basis for understanding the mechanism of erection in an animal model frequently used in research in reproductive biology, the angioarchitecture of the penis of the rat has been described using scanning electron microscopy. Study of the penile vasculature of the rat indicates that the corpora cavernosa penis and the corpus spongiosum are independent erectile tissues, each with its own arterial and venous vessels. The large vascular spaces and abundant smooth muscle of the penile crura are compatible with its role in regulating blood flow to more distal penile tissues. Helicine arteries of the crura, but not the parent deep penile artery or arteries elsewhere, have muscular cushions in their walls. The venous drainage of the penile crura is via subtunical veins which are thought to be compressed during erection to elevate pressure within the penis. Large, paired cavernous veins drain the shaft of the penis. A unique method for inhibiting blood flow from the penis is indicated by the division of the cavernous veins into smaller channels prior to joining the subtunical venous plexus. Erectile tissue in the bifid origins of the corpus spongiosum has abundant cavernous muscle, while in the remainder of the corpus spongiosum little smooth muscle lines the cavernous spaces. The cavernous spaces on either side of the urethra coalesce to form vessels, each of which communicates with cavernous spaces in the glans. In addition, a bypass of the glans is effected by communication of these vessels directly with the deep dorsal vein. The apparent absence of muscular pads in vessels of the spongiosum, the relative paucity of cavernous smooth muscle, and the ample venous drainage provided by the deep dorsal vein may account for the lack of a venous occlusive mechanism similar to that of the corpora cavernosa penis.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 50%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 70%

The vasculature of the rat penis: A scanning electron microscopic and histologic study

et al. 1991

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“…Previously it has been suggested that the epithelioid cells of AVAs were modified smooth muscle cells (Schumacher, 1908;Brown, 1937;Sherman, 1963;Fujimoto and Takeshige, 1975;Bock and Gorgas, 1977;Gorgas et al, 1977;Molyneux, 1977;Curri, 1979;Bock, 1980;Iijima et al, 1988). This view has also been supported by transmission electron microscopic studies in which epithelioid cells displayed almost all morphological criteria of vascular smooth muscle cells (Bock, 1980): They contained myofilament bundles, dense bodies, dense patches, caveolae, and basal laminae (Kondo, 1972;Bock and Gorgas, 1977;Gorgas et al, 1977;Curri, 1979;Iijima et al, 1988).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Three‐dimensional cytoarchitecture of the media of arteriovenous anastomoses in the rabbit ear

Fujiwara

Iijima

1990

Am. J. Anat.

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Arteriovenous anastomoses in the rabbit ear were examined with scanning electron microscopy to elucidate the structural differentiation of the media of the shunt. Arterial, intermediate, and venous segments in the shunt and two layers of the media in the intermediate segment were differentiated based on cell shape and cell organization. In the arterial segment, smooth muscle cells were spindle-shaped, either elongated or short, with a few branches, and were arranged circularly or diagonally with respect to the vessel's long axis. There were also stellate muscle cells with radiating processes. In the intermediate segment, the smooth muscle cells of the outer layer of the media were also arranged circularly and resembled the elongated cells in the arterial segments, but they were more irregular in shape and had more processes than those of the arterial segment. The epithelioid cells of the inner layer of the media were oval or polygonal and oriented irregularly with respect to the vessel's long axis, clustering to form longitudinal plicae. The smooth muscle cells of the venous segment were flat with many lateral processes and formed a thin, discontinuous layer. The smooth muscle cells in the arterial segment and those of the outer layer of the intermediate segment exhibited a highly rugged surface texture, indicating their strong contractility; the epithelioid cells and the smooth muscle cells in the venous segment exhibited a generally smooth surface, indicating less contractility. The intermediate segments were supplied with a dense nerve plexus. The intermediate segments, therefore, may be actively involved in the regulation of blood flow under neuronal influence.

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“…However, a lack of such a cushion in the rabbit HA [Fujimoto and Takeshige, 1975] makes us assume other regulatory roles of the HA. Recent immunocytochemical and immunofluorescent analyses at light-microscopic levels indicated the involvement of the vasoactive intestinal polypeptide [Dail et al, 1983;Hedlund and Andersson, 1985;Schmalbruch and Wagner, 1989] and the neuropeptide Y [Carrillo et al, 1991] as noncholinergic, nonadrenergic neurotransmitters or neuromodulators in the regulation of the penile blood flow.…”

Section: Immunocytochemistry Of Fibronectin and Endothelin-1 In The Cmentioning

confidence: 99%

Immunocytochemistry of Fibronectin and Endothelin-1 in the Cavernous Body of Postnatal Rabbit Penises

Nomiyama

Doi²,

Kudo³

et al. 1998

Cells Tissues Organs

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The differentiating cavernous body (CB) of postnatal rabbit penises was examined with a special reference to immunolocalizations for fibronectin (FN) and endothelin-1 (ET-1). At postnatal day 1, the CBs were embedded by an abundance of mesenchymal cells (MCs), and some of them were closely associated with endothelial cells of preexisting capillaries. Our electron micrographs indicated that such MCs are successively incorporated into the capillary endothelium as vasoformative cells. At this period, vascular sprouts of the helicine artery (HA), which were associated with the MCs, arose from the deep penile artery, and the transformation of such cells to endothelial and medial muscle ones was also indicated, and some MCs appeared to differentiate to epithelioid cells in the media. Immunoreactions for FN were preferentially localized in the rough endoplasmic reticulum (rER) and along the plasma membrane of such vasoformative MCs, and on the extracellular matrix components which connect these MCs with sprouts of both growing capillaries and HA. These findings suggest that FN, which is produced in the rER of the MCs, plays a crucial role in the mechanical linkage during the incorporation of vasoformative MCs into these penile vessels. Immunoreactions for ET-1 were preferentially localized on Weibel-Palade bodies in endothelial cells of the HA, implying the involvement of this peptide in the regulation of the local blood flow in this vessel.

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The wall structure of the arteries in the corpora cavernosa penis of rabbits; light and electron microscopy

Cited by 13 publications

References 15 publications

The vasculature of the rat penis: A scanning electron microscopic and histologic study

The vasculature of the rat penis: A scanning electron microscopic and histologic study

Three‐dimensional cytoarchitecture of the media of arteriovenous anastomoses in the rabbit ear

Immunocytochemistry of Fibronectin and Endothelin-1 in the Cavernous Body of Postnatal Rabbit Penises

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