A transmission and scanning electron microscopic study of tumoral and peritumoral microblood vessels in human gliomas

The tumor microblood vessels (MBVs) of 25 cases of gliomas of varying grades were studied and compared with those in peritumoral region using both transmission and scanning electron microscopy (TEM and SEM). The TEM study revealed numerous villous projections with pinocytotic vesicles (PCVs) and large vacuoles (LVs) concentrated mainly at the luminal aspect in tumor MBVs which increased with increasing severity of edema. The peritumoral MBVs, in addition to showing some increase in villous projections on the luminal surface, also showed increased number of PCVs and LVs concentrated at the abluminal aspect with some of them even communicating with the extravascular space. The SEM study largely corroborated the TEM findings. The sites of formation of PCVs and LVs appeared as small pits or large craters on the luminal surface of the endothelial cells of tumor MBVs. We feel that the morphological evidence of increased permeability in tumor MBVs represents their role in the development of edema and that the occurrence of reverse pinocytosis in peritumoral MBVs is a distinct possibility which may be associated with resorption of edema fluid.