Fig. 2.

Properties of the sublingual microcirculation before (native) and after the topical sublingual application of acetylcholine and nitroglycerin. a Total vessel density (TVD) and space-time diagram-based flow velocity of the venules as determined using manual video analysis. ANOVA p < 0.0001 for TVD and p < 0.01 for space-time diagram-based flow velocity; asterisk denotes values differing from native examination in pairwise analysis (p < 0.05), dagger denotes values differing to acetylcholine stimulation in pairwise analysis (p < 0.05). b Total vessel density and average perfused speed index (APSI) as determined using algorithm-based video analysis. ANOVA p < 0.01 for TVD and p = 0.02 for APSI; asterisk denotes values differing from native examination in pairwise analysis (p < 0.05), dagger denotes values differing to acetylcholine stimulation in pairwise analysis (p < 0.05). Boxplots represent median, interquartile range, and range. Horizontal scattering is applied to the individual data points in order to avoid superimposition