[The structuro-functional modulus of the microcirculatory network of the cerebral cortex in rats]

Complex investigation carried out in rats with the aid of polarographic microelectrodes revealed a mosaic distribution of blood supply within a small volume of nerve tissue in resting. The activation of cortical neurons was accompanied by local functional hyperemia and increased level of oxygen available. The hyperemia spread over a 200-300 mu area corresponding to the sides of neuronal columns. The data obtained have shown that the system of the cortex blood circulation and oxygen transport to neural tissues is based on a special microcirculatory module responsible for circulatory-metabolic supply of separate groups of neurons and composed as vertically oriented columns.