Blood Supply of Mystacial Vibrissæ

Abstract

CURREENT interest in the blood supply to the skin and hair follicles of the sheep^1,2 prompts description of some recent investigations into the blood supply to the mystacial vibrissae of the cat and rat. The animals were killed with ether and amyl nitrite, or intraperitoneal ‘Nembutal’, and a polythene cannula introduced into either the common carotid artery or jugular vein. Blood was washed out with warm normal saline containing sodium nitrite or with ‘Priscol’, a sympathetic blocking agent. A warm 2 per cent aqueous solution of soluble Berlin blue was the best of the injection masses used, due to its small particle-size and low viscosity. Techniques dependent on the presence of haemoglobin did not reveal the fine vessels traversing the trabeculse because they were obscured by blood in the sinuses, while constricted vessels empty of blood were overlooked.