The three-dimensional microvascular and collagen fibrillar arrangements around rat vibrissa hairs as revealed by scanning electron microscopy

The study used scanning electron microscopy to examine the microvascular and collagen fibrillar arrangements around the vibrissa hairs of adult Wistar rats. It was found that each hair root was encased by a sinus structure, comprising a superficial ring sinus and a deeper cavernous sinus. The cavernous sinus contained numerous trabeculae, unlike the ring sinus. A basket-like capillary network, denser at the lower part, surrounded the hair root within the cavernous sinus. The lower part of the hair root, crucial for hair growth, received a more abundant blood supply from the radical artery and was drained by the radical vein, while the upper part was supplied by the subcapsular artery and drained by the subcapsular vein. The study concluded that the lower part of the vibrissa hair, essential for hair growth, was better supplied with blood and protected from external forces by the cavernous sinus.