Comparison of the characteristic features of bonghan ducts, blood and lymphatic capillaries

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Date

2009-03-31

Authors

Ogay, Vyacheslav
Bae, Kyung Hee
Kim, Ki Woo
Soh, Kwang-sup

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies

Abstract

Objective: To show that the characteristic morphological and ultrastructural features of a Bonghan corpuscle and duct presented here are consistent with the description given in the early reports of Bonghan Kim. Materials and Methods: We compared the morphological aspects of Bonghan ducts with those of blood and lymphatic capillaries on the ultrastructural level to display the manifestly distinctive nature of the Bonghan system. Results: The walls of the ductules were observed to be composed of a single layer of endothelial cells with characteristic rod-shaped nuclei and were not surrounded by a basal lamina or by accessory cells, such as pericytes or smooth muscle cells. The abluminal cell membranes of Bonghan ductules were not attached by anchoring filaments to the fibers of extracellular matrices as observed in lymphatic capillaries.

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Keywords

acupuncture meridian, blood capillary, Bonghan corpuscle and duct, circulatory system, endothelial cells, lymphatic capillary, Research Subject Categories::MEDICINE::Microbiology, immunology, infectious diseases::Microbiology

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