[Vascular architecture and neovascularization is surveyed with a new casting technique]

Tubular, alveolar and caval systems in the body can be replicated by injecting a solidifying mass, surrounding tissue then being removed and the corroded cast of the cavity analyzed. Long recognized, this approach has gained impetus with the advent of the scanning electron microscope and acrylic polymers. Microvascular corrosion casting combined with analysis in the scanning electron microscope is now a powerful tool for the investigation of e.g. vascular architecture and angiogenesis in different organs and species (including man) and under both physiological, experimental and pathological conditions. Different questions at issue and the morphology of the microcirculation are presented briefly with some key references.