[Observations of the tracheal microvasculature in the rat]

Blood vessels of the trachea and microcirculation of tracheal wall in rats were investigated using vascular casts and ink injection. The tracheal blood vessels were found to be distributed segmentally. The longitudinal tracheo-esophageal arteries sent out transverse vessels to the soft tissue between the cartilages. These transverse vessels were anastomosed in the midline of the anterior tracheal wall and continued to divide into smaller branches to supply areas covered by cartilaginous rings. The blood bed in the inner aspect of tracheal cartilage was made of very rich capillaries and dense venous sinuses. The arterial branches to the posterior membranous portion of the trachea came from esophageal and tracheal arteries.