Anterior Tibial Vein

Vertical section through the anterior tibial vein (section of the wall close to the lumen). Arteries show a typical layered structure. In contrast, this layered structure is much less distinctive in veins. The upper portion of this electron micrograph depicts a flat sprawling endothelial cell with its nucleus 1 and underneath the fine fibrils of the lamina propria intimae 2 . The following layer contains the elastic fibers of the internal elastic membrane 3 , which are also found in arteries. The layer following the internal elastic membrane contains collagen fibers that have been cut in all planes 4 . These layers are followed by the smooth muscle cells 5 of the tunica me dia. Note that there are also many collagen fibrils between the smooth muscle cells.

Electron microscopy; magnification: × 6200

References

Kuehnel, W.(2003). Color Atlas of Cytology, Histology, and Microscopic Anatomy. 4^th edition . Institute of Anatomy Universitätzu Luebeck Luebeck, Germany . Thieme Stuttgart · New York .