The organisation of the gingival vasculature

Vascular perfusion, vital microscopy and conventional histologic techniques were applied to a study of the structure and organisation of vessels in gingiva with no previous history of inflammation. The gingival vasculature around deciduous teeth of cats and dogs was found to be classifiable as a microvascular bed, containing arterioles, precapillary venules and venules less than 501974m in width. Capillaries predominated within crestal gingiva and within the superficial buccal and crevicular networks. Precapillary arterioles and postcapillary venules were most common in the mid gingival region. Small arterioles and venules were present in apical gingiva. Capillaries, comprising the network in crestal gingiva, were arranged as interconnecting repetitive units. Changes in the width, length and local morphology of vessels in each unit, with inflammation, resulted in the formation of vessel loops. With continuing inflammation, certain connecting vessels were lost while other vessels became spatially rearranged.