Blood vessels in the mouse tail: progress in anatomical studies.

Objective: To investigate the structural characteristics of caudal blood vessels in the vasculature of the mouse tail by multiple techniques.

Methods: We investigated the vascular structure of the mouse tail using a range of techniques, including gross anatomical microscopy, dual-color micro-emulsion perfusion, Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT), micro-angiography, histopathology, X-ray microangiography, and scanning electron microscopy. In particular, we performed a comprehensive examination of the transverse caudal vessels and the deep caudal vascular system.

Results: The vasculature of the mouse tail consists of two circulatory systems: the longitudinal circulation system and the local circulation system. The longitudinal system comprises three groups of blood vessels: the middle caudal vessels and the left and right caudal vessels. In addition, we proposed standardized nomenclature for these vessels.

Conclusion: We identified two modes of blood circulation in the mouse tail: (1) longitudinal circulation running along the length of the tail and (2) local circulation. These blood vessels were categorized into three types: superficial vessels, deep vessels, and communicating vessels.