Figure 5.

Changes in endothelial viability of vein segments stored in different preservation solutions. Vein segments were stored in Duragraft (A), autologous heparinized blood (AHB) (B) and physiological salt solution (PSS) (C) for 4 h after vein harvesting. The high green fluorescence indicates the apoptotic cells. At this incubation time, no differences were observed between the three intraoperative storage solutions regarding endothelial cell death. The test used measured the fragmented DNA of the apoptotic cells by catalytically incorporating fluorescein-12-dUTP(a) at the 3′-OH DNA ends. For this reason the test dis not discern between living and dead cells. Magnification 4X.