Microscopic Image Reveals 200x Liver Vein Packed With Red Blood Cells

1 articles · Updated · ScienceAlert · Aug 17

A jagged reddish-orange channel in this week’s microscope puzzle was identified as a liver vein filled edge to edge with red blood cells.
The vein carries blood back toward the heart after it has passed through the liver’s sinusoids, where oxygen-rich arterial blood mixes with nutrient-rich blood from the gut.
Purple tissue surrounding the vessel is hepatocytes—the liver’s main working cells—which make up about 80% of the organ and filter toxins, produce bile and store energy.
The image was taken with a scanning electron microscope and shown at roughly 200x magnification when printed 10 centimeters wide, then colorized because the original electron image is grayscale.

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