Figure 4.

Levels of capillary dysfunction (capillary transit time heterogeneity (CTH) increase). The yellow arrows indicate erythrocyte flows with different velocities through the capillary bed. The color within the vessels indicates oxygen saturation, and the background color outside indicates tissue oxygen tension. (A) The normal state, in which capillary flow patterns homogenize during hyperemia, cf. Figure 3A. (B) The hyperemic state, where slight CTH increases leads to increased cerebral blood flow (CBF). (C) The flow suppression state. (D) Luxury perfusion, a state of vasoparalysis, extreme hyperemia, and poor oxygen extraction. (E) Tissue hypoxia. Reproduced and modified from ref. 116.