You are here

Article Text

Article menu
Download PDFPDF
IMAGING ARTICLE
Electron-Microscopic Imaging of Endothoracic Fascia in the Thoracic Paravertebral Space in Rats
  1. Tatjana Stopar Pintaric, MD, PhD, DEAA*,
  2. Peter Veranic, PhD†,
  3. Admir Hadzic, MD, PhD‡,
  4. Manoj Karmakar, MD, PhD§ and
  5. Erika Cvetko, DD, PhD†
  1. From the *Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Therapy, University Medical Center Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia;
  2. †Medical Faculty Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia;
  3. ‡College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY; and
  4. §Department of Anesthesiology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
  1. Address correspondence to: Tatjana Stopar Pintaric, MD, PhD, DEAA, Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Therapy, University Medical Center Ljubljana, Zaloska 7, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia (e-mail: tatjanas38{at}gmail.com).

Abstract

Background and Objectives Anesthesia and analgesia with paravertebral block are reportedly variable. Existence of an endothoracic fascia has been proposed as one of the possible mechanisms leading to variability. We undertook an electron-microscopy imaging study to investigate the endothoracic fascia in the thoracic paravertebral space (TPS) in rats.

Methods Male Wistar rats were studied in accordance with the principles of laboratory animal care. After the rats were euthanized in a CO2 chamber, the thoracic paravertebral tissues were removed en bloc and cut into consecutive transverse sections of approximately 3 mm. Stereomicroscopy and electron-microscopy assessments were performed by 2 independent observers.

Results The endothoracic fascia was consistently identified in all specimens. The fascia was located between the parietal pleura and the innermost intercostal muscles or ribs. Its thickness ranged from 15 to 27 μm (mean, 20 ± 3 μm). The endothoracic fascia divided the TPS in 2 compartments: one, extrapleural and anterolateral (EPC); another, subendothoracic and posteromedial (SETC). The spinal nerves with their ganglia were found within SETC, whereas the sympathetic ganglia were consistently located within the EPC.

Conclusions The endothoracic fascia in rats appears to divide the TPS into EPC and SETC. These anatomic characteristics may have implications in thoracic paravertebral blockade.

https://doi.org/10.1097/AAP.0b013e31824451cb

Statistics from Altmetric.com

    Request Permissions

    If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

    Footnotes

    • The authors declare no conflict of interest.