| Abstract: | A technique is described which allows quantification of specifically stained, intermingled vessel wall components in paraffin-embedded tissue. The dissociation of elastic, muscular and connective tissue and the determination of their areal densities in the superior vena cava and in the ascending aorta of the dog, was performed by automated image analysis. The percentages of elastic+connective tissue, determined by this technique, correlated significantly with the data derived from biochemical measurements. It was further found that the structure of the vena cava wall was a function of the distance from the right atrium. |
