Structural Microvessel Response in Dermis of Suction Blister Wounds on Upper and Lower Limbs in Healthy Volunteers

Abstract

Structural aspects of the superficial microvasculature in suction blister wounds on forearm and lower leg in healthy volunteers (n=8) were studied by means of intravital microscopy. Functional microvessel lengths were quantitated, as was the number of established papillary loops and neovascularization sites. On the day of infliction, structural differences between the upper and lower limb wounds were small and insignificant, and the papillary loops spread out relatively richly over the surface. The changes that occurred over time on the two sites followed the same general pattern. Between day 2 and day 4 the loops became redistributed and more perpendicularly oriented within what appeared to be a larger tissue volume, and new vessel formation was increasingly evident. Redistribution and neovascularization occurred more quickly in the upper limb wounds, and the differences may be explained by the lower limb microvessels' being more fixed in the tissue.