Visualizing the Peripheral Primo Vascular System in Mice Skin by Using the Polymer Mercox

OBJECTIVES: As the peripheral part of the primo vascular system (PVS) is difficult to visualize, we used a vascular casting material Mercox injected directly into the skin to take advantage of a simple procedure to visualize PVS structures as primo vessels (PVs) and primo nodes (PNs) in the skin. METHODS: Two colors of the polymer Mercox were injected into mouse skin. After a partial maceration of the whole body with potassium hydroperoxide solution, we anatomized it under a stereomicroscope to trace the Mercox that had been injected into the PVS. RESULTS: Injection of Mercox directly into the skin allowed the PVs and the PNs to be visualized. This approach can fill the PVS when the material is ejected out of the PVs or PNs. The shapes, sizes, and topographic positions of the nodes and the vessels are the hallmarks used to identify the PVS in skin when Mercox is used as a tracer. CONCLUSION: The direct injection of the casting material Mercox into skin, with modified partial maceration procedures, is a promising method for visualizing the PVs and the PNs in the peripheral part of the PVS in skin. The polymer Mercox can penetrate through the primo pores of the primo vascular wall and fill the PVs and the PNs. The data prove that PVs and PNs exist on the hypodermal layer of the skin.