Morphologic Mapping of the Sublingual Microcirculation in Healthy Volunteers

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Guven G., Uz Z., Hilty M. P., Bilecenoglu B., Akin S., Ince Y., ...More

JOURNAL OF VASCULAR RESEARCH, vol.59, no.4, pp.199-208, 2022 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 59 Issue: 4
  • Publication Date: 2022
  • Doi Number: 10.1159/000522394
  • Journal Name: JOURNAL OF VASCULAR RESEARCH
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, BIOSIS, EMBASE, Food Science & Technology Abstracts, MEDLINE
  • Page Numbers: pp.199-208
  • Keywords: Microcirculation, Mapping, Sublingual, IDF imaging, Capillary, DARK-FIELD SDF, ORAL MICROCIRCULATION, SEPSIS, FLOW, AGE
  • Hacettepe University Affiliated: No

Abstract

Purpose: Monitoring the sublingual and oral microcirculation (SM-OM) using hand-held vital microscopes (HVMs) has provided valuable insight into the (patho)physiology of diseases. However, the microvascular anatomy in a healthy population has not been adequately described yet. Methods: Incident dark field-based HVM imaging was used to visualize the SM-OM. First, the SM was divided into four different fields; Field-a (between incisors-lingua), Field-b (between the canine-first premolar-lingua), Field-c (between the first-second premolar-lingua), Field-d (between the second molar-wisdom teeth-lingua). Second, we investigated the buccal area, lower and upper lip. Total/functional vessel density (TVD/FCD), focus depth (FD), small vessel mean diameters (SVMDs), and capillary tortuosity score (CTS) were compared between the areas. Results: Fifteen volunteers with a mean age of 29 +/- 6 years were enrolled. No statistical difference was found between the sublingual fields in terms of TVD (p = 0.30), FCD (p = 0.38), and FD (p = 0.09). SVMD was similar in Field-a, Field-b, and Field-c (p = 0.20-0.30), and larger in Field-d (p < 0.01, p = 0.015). The CTS of the buccal area was higher than in the lips. Conclusion: The sublingual area has a homogenous distribution in TVD, FCD, FD, and SVMD. This study can be a description of the normal microvascular anatomy for future researches regarding microcirculatory assessment.