Argyrophilic Fibers of Intravascular Threadlike Structures in Rat

Lee, Byung-Cheon; Nam, Tae-Jeong; Johng, Hyeon-Min; Park, Eun-Sung; Baik, Ku-Youn; Sung, Baeck-Kyoung; Soh, Kyung-Soon; Yoon, Yeo-Sung; Soh, Kwang-Sup

Keywords: Acupuncture meridian; Argyrophilic fiber; Bonghan duct; Fluorescence stereomicroscope; Intravascular; threadlike structure

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3831/KPI.2008.11.3.005

Objective: We took intravascular threadlike structures from rat aortas to investigate their histological characteristics consistent with the intravascular Bonghan duct. Methods: Gomori s silver impregnation method, in addition to routine hematoxylin and eosin staining, was applied to demonstrate the characteristic feature of the intravascular threadlike structures. Results: These two staining methods clearly showed that the intravascular threadlike structures had unique features of argyrophilic reticular fibers and heavily stained oval or rod-shaped nuclei in them. Conclusion: The results are strong evidences for identifying threadlike structure as the intravascular Bonghan duct.