Clinical Investigation of the Microcirculation : Proceedings of the Meeting on Clinical Investigation of the Microcirculation Held at London, England September, 1985

In 1628 William Harvey published his discovery of the existence of the microcirculation which he deduced from careful anatomical and physiological study. Thirty-three years later, Malpighi confirmed the presence of capillaries through direct microscopical observation. Subsequent scientific advance has been slow, and in view of the fact that microvascular in the genesis and expression of many pathophysiology may be implicated diseases, our know ledge of human microvascular function is surprisingly limited. This ignorance attests to the difficulty of studying something that is both minute and inaccessible without disturbing the quantity that is being measured. In the last fifteen years, however, direct techniques have been developed for studying human microvascular pressure, flow and permeability. These methods have provided new insights into human microvascular function in health and disease. At the same time there has been a steady growth of new indirect techniques based on a w ide range of physical principles that reflect some or other aspect of microvascular function. Front Matter....Pages i-ix Front Matter....Pages 1-1 The Study of Human Capillary Pressure....Pages 3-22 Capillary Flow Measurements in Human Skin....Pages 23-33 Fluorescence Videomicroscopy for Studying Trans-Capillary and Interstitial Diffusion....Pages 35-47 Front Matter....Pages 49-49 The Laser Doppler Flowmeter: Clinical and Physiological Application....Pages 51-70 The Use of Transcutaneous Oxygen Tension Measurements for the Assessment of the Cutaneous Microcirculation....Pages 71-84 Quantitative Measurement of Cutaneous Blood Flow Using Radioactive Tracers....Pages 85-101 The Measurement of Fluid Filtration in Human Limbs....Pages 103-126 Front Matter....Pages 127-127 Microvascular Haemodynamics in Hypertension....Pages 129-143 Clinical Application of Microvascular Measurements —Venous and Lymphatic Disease....Pages 145-155 Microvascular Measurements in Patients with Arteriosclerosis....Pages 157-167 Measurement of the Microcirculation in Raynaud’s Phenomenon....Pages 169-181 Clinical Investigation of the Diabetic Microcirculation....Pages 183-198 Assessment and Monitoring of Microvascular Free Tissue Transfers....Pages 199-224 Proceedings of the Meeting on Clinical Investigation of the Microcirculation, London, UK September, 1985