The vasculature of the guinea-pig thymus: topographic studies by light and electron microscopy

The three-dimensional vascular distribution and the vascular-parenchymal relationship in normal guinea pig thymus were studied by light, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Interlobular arteries arising from one thymic artery entered the thymic parenchyma where they branched into arterioles and then formed capillary networks in the cortex and in the medulla. Most cortical capillaries drained to the surface via perpendicular venules which merged into the subcapsular veins. Some vessels of the inner cortex, however, returned blood to the postcapillary venules (PCVs) at the cortico-medullary junction and in the medulla. The vascular supply of the guinea pig thymus is thus characterized by a dual circulation in which venous blood drains either via a subcapsular or via a cortico-medullary route. The endothelium of the postcapillary venule (PCV) was flat and often contained migrating lymphocytes. These venules were surrounded by a perivascular space (PVS) which separated the vessel from the parenchyma and which contained many lymphocytes. This PVS was not lined by cells but was delimited on one side by the abluminal surface of the venular endothelium and on the other side by a thin, sheet-like layer formed by cytoplasmic processes of epithelial reticular cells. This epithelial sheet was not continuous, as there were frequent interruptions or gaps where the PVS communicated directly with the intercellular mesh of the thymic parenchyma. The PVS did not form a continuous longitudinal channel but was interrupted by epithelial trabeculae. Some macrophages and a few plasma cells were seen in the parenchyma near the PVS. These findings suggest that the PCV and the PVS in the thymus may function as pathways for the migration of lymphocytes into or out of the blood circulation.