Fig. 2.

Visualization of the endothelial glycocalyx with different microscopic techniques. a Endothelial glycocalyx of a rat left ventricular myocardial capillary stained with Alcian blue 8GX and visualized using electron microscopy. Bar represents 1 μm. Reproduced with permission from reference number [124]. b Intravital microscopic recording of the endothelial glycocalyx of a hamster cremaster muscle capillary. The anatomical diameter of 5.4 μm is larger than the red blood cell column width (left pane) or the plasma column width (right pane) labeled with fluorescent dextran (70 kD). This difference is caused by the presence of the endothelial glycocalyx. The bar in the left pane represents 5 μm. Reproduced with permission from reference number [129]. c Endothelial glycocalyx of a mouse common carotid artery. 3D-reconstruction of a series of optical slices obtained with two-photon laser scanning microscopy showing part of the vessel wall. The intact vessel was perfused with FITC-labeled lectin (WGA) to stain the endothelial glycocalyx (green) and SYTO 41 to label cell nuclei (blue). The arrows indicate the direction of the X, Y, and Z axis. The scanned volume approximates 200 × 200 × 60 μm³. For details on methodology see also reference number [67]