Figure 2

Formation of new blood vessels over time. (A1–F1) are representative macroscopic views of the patch-bearing vein on days 3, 7, 10, 14, 28 and 84, respectively. (A2–F2) are representative stereomicroscope photographs of the luminal side of the arterial patch (yellow arrowhead) on the vein on the same days. On day 3, blood vessels and the apertures of new blood vessels around the arterial tissue (yellow arrowhead) cannot be seen (A1 and A2). On day 7, there are hazy capillary-like structures around the adipose tissue but no holes (B1 and B2). On day 10, the LtCJV turned a brighter red colour and there were a few small holes around the margin of the arterial patch (C1 and C2). On day 14, the adipose tissue around the arterial patch had clearly visible neovasculature that flexed and meandered and the holes had become larger (D1 and D2). On day 28, the new blood vessels and the shunting were even more pronounced and the apertures of the new blood vessels at the margin of the patch were even larger (E1 and E2). On day 84, there were many new blood vessels around the common jugular vein and in its surrounding adipose tissue and the vein was brighter than before and had turbulent blood flow (F1). There were large holes around the arterial patch (F2). Scale bar = 5 mm.