Fig 1

Movat pentachrome staining of a normal human aorta (a), normal human coronary artery (b), and normal aortic root in mice (c). Images of a normal human peri-renal abdominal aorta, a normal human coronary artery, and a sample of a normal aortic root of a mouse all taken at the same 2.5× magnification. This image clearly shows how the various vessels relate to one another. Additional high-resolution images of the various vessels clearly show the concentrically arranged fenestrated elastic laminae in the media of the aorta (A) and the coronary artery (B), and, to a lesser extent, in the murine aortic root (C and D [detail]). The medio-adventitial border of the human aorta and coronary artery consist of vaso vasorum, whereas, by contrast, near the aortic root of mice only myocardium and fatty cells are identified. Note the minimal intimal thickness in the normal murine aortic root.