Ultrastructural study on the small blood vessels of human vocal cords

Small blood vessels of human vocal cords were examined by electron microscopy. The endothelial cells contain a large number of filaments. Two kinds of filaments could be differentiated: Short intermediate filaments with a diameter of 10-12 nm, which were localized in the pericaryon, and bundles of thin filaments with a periodicity of 480 nm lying beneath the luminal cellular membrane. The basement membrane of capillaries, arteries, and veins was lamellate. Between the outermost, not fully closed lamellae, myocytes or pericytes could be seen. Both the lamellate basement membranes and the large number of intermediate filaments in the endothelial cells are discussed as stabilizing structures in blood vessels which are exposed to high mechanical forces. The bundles of cross-striated thin filaments may possibly increase the permeability of the vessel wall by their contraction, permitting the well-known fast development of edema in the vocal cords. The importance of Weibel-Palade bodies, which could be disclosed in the endothelial cells in large numbers, is not yet known.