Corrosion Cast- Comparison of Different Techniques and Materials Used in Corrosion Casting

In medical terms, cast refers to the replica obtained after filling a luminal structure with resin to reproduce its morphology. It can be accomplished by removing the soft tissue around it, termed corrosion or maceration. Corrosion casts form very important material in learning morphology of various structures like- vascular tree, tracheobronchial tree, luminal casts of various organs. Vascular casts have been studied using scanning electron microscopy, which has contributed to understanding the biological processes. If the specimen is fixed after resin injection, it can be used for surgical training, medical teaching etc. In the present review, the authors have tried to analyse the technical aspects of corrosion casting. We have also added note on polyurethane foam cast of coronary vessels, which was carried out in our laboratory.

Capillary Plexus and Vasa of the Rat Lung as Revealed by Scanning Electron Microscope of Corrosion Casts

The pulmonary microvasculatures of rats were studied by injection replicas prepared from Mercox. This medium enabled us to easily obtain consistent, stable, and complete injected replicas of the pulmonary vasculature. In order to investigate the three dimensional structures of the tributaries of the bronchial artery, such as the capillary plexus and vasa vasorum, we performed a scanning electron microscopic(SEM) study of the vascular casts, using Mercox CL-2B as a media. The alveolar capillaries revealed hexagonal or pentagonal rings of vascular networks. In some areas, the vascular rings composed a square network, The bronchial tree was supplied by the bronchial arteries which form a coarse capillary extending as far as the terminal bronchioles. Occasionally the capillary plexus was connected with adjacent capillary networks in and around the alveolar walls. The walls of the pulmonary artery revealed only a single layer of the vasa vasorum, but those of the pulmonary vein were surrounded by more complicated and well developed vasa vasorum than the pulmonary arterial side. The mean diameters of the venous vasa vasorum are greater than the arterial vasa vasorum.

MICROANATOMY AND SEM OBSERVATIONS OF INTRACEREBRAL VESSELS / 解剖学报

Intracerebral vessels from 10 hemispheres of children were perfused with ABS and observed under the 6212-Ⅲ surgical microscope and TSM-Ⅰ scanning electron microscope.1. The arterial network of the pia mater shows irregular anastomoses. Many terminal branches in the meshwork do not form anastomosis but perforate into the brain tissue at right angle. Most of the points where the arteries perforate are longit udinally arranged along the gyri.2. The venous network of the pia mater usually lies deeper than the arteries and becomes superficial to the latter after joining together to form larger vessels.3. The cortical arteries have an average diameter of 44.3?m. They are densely distributed like hairs of a brush.4. The tributaries of the cortical veins join to form larger veins assuming the shape of an inverted fir tree.5. The medullary arteries are different in length and in diameter. The diameter averages 158.2?m. The arteries perforating through the top of the gyrus are straight but those from the sulcus bend to a certain degree after they pass through the cortex. Branches from the middle segments come out vertically and form "T"-shape branches. The deep segments send out branches like the roots of a tree and form widespread anastomoses with the central arteries. Wavy, tortuous medullary arteries can be also found. The casts of these arteries were observed under the SEM.The medullary veins and central arteries have been studied and described microanatomically.