The development of vascular supply of normal rat prostate during the sexual maturation: an angiographic study

Vascular distribution of small blood vessels and capillaries using India ink angiography was studied in normal rat prostate from puberty up to full sexual maturation. The study included both macroscopic observation of the lobular vascular irrigation and the histological assessment of the periacinar capillary network. The topographical distribution of the main prostate branches was found to be different among the rat prostate lobes. The ventral lobe seems to be better irrigated than the dorsal one. The former being supplied by two parallel vascular systems, one irrigating the median two-thirds of the ventral lobe, whereas the remaining external one-third was found to be conjointly irrigated from the pericapsular branches of the fat pads. The blood vessels of the dorsal and lateral lobes emerged radially from a periurethral circle, with the dorsal branches ending blindly in the connective tissue of the pelvic cavity, whereas the lateral prostate was also conjointly irrigated by a dual vascularization from the pericapsular fat pad and the periurethral circle branch. The histological study revealed quantitative differences between the periacinar capillaries of both ventral and dorsal lobes. The capillary density was found to be age dependent and directly proportional to the acinar size. Small acini were less well irrigated by capillaries than were the larger ones. The number of capillaries per acinar area increased progressively toward the maturation (day 90); thereafter, their number remained constant. Both prostate lobes showed identical patterns. The heterogeneous vascular networks among the rat prostatic lobes might offer an additional clue for their distinctive morphophysiological characteristics, which most probably play a role in various pathogenetic processes.