Countercurrent blood vessel arrangement in beaver (Castor canadensis).

The vascular anatomy of five beavers (Castor canadensis) was studied by dissection and injection of arteries and veins with vinyl acetate. There is extensive countercurrent arrangement of arteries and veins distal to and including the common iliac artery and veins. Two types of countercurrent vessels occur (1) a venae comitantes type in which two or three veins surround a central artery, and (2) a modified rete type. The retia are located proximal to the large flat tail and the webbed hind feet. Two bypass veins are described for the feet and tail and the significance of these structures in temperature regulation is stressed.