Images of arterioles in unfixed tissue obtained by acoustic microscopy

A scanning acoustic microscope operating at 600 MHz was used to observe arterioles in a thin sheet of collagenous connective tissue dissected from the submucosa of the guinea-pig small intestine. The arterioles were clearly defined in images made using transmitted ultrasound, and the acoustic attenuation (alpha) of the arteriolar wall was estimated to be 120 cm-1. Images made using reflected ultrasound did not show the arterioles clearly.