William Harvey proved the circulation of blood 400 years ago using a combination of ligature application and astute observation that presaged the existence of capillaries. Here we report findings, based on our development of a novel application of optical coherence tomography (OCT), that directly confirm the impact of cuff inflation on microvessels as small as ~30µm. By emulating Harvey's proofs, using cuff inflation at low pressure in the presence and absence of skin heating, we have imaged and quantified significant effects on microvascular diameter and density in humans in vivo. The application of cuff pressure significantly increased microvascular diameter (40.5 ± 4.6 vs 47.1 ± 3.9 µm, P = .01) and density (8.33 ± 4.3 vs 15.1 ± 4.9%, P < .01). These impacts were reversed by cuff deflation. Our study also showed the profound impacts of skin heating on microvessel diameter (46.7 ± 5.8 vs 70.6 ± 7.8 µm, P < .01) and density (14.2 ± 6.5 vs 43.2 ± 9%, P < .01) in vivo, which were further exacerbated by cuff inflation. Our approach to the direct visualization of the human skin microvasculature is non‐invasive, safe, and easily applied. Future experiments might be directed at questions of microvascular physiology and pathophysiology, such as how different mammals thermoregulate and what impacts cardiovascular disease and diabetes have on microvascular structure and function.

中文翻译：

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使用光学相干断层扫描技术评估人的皮肤微脉管系统：证明哈维的证明。

威廉·哈维（William Harvey）400年前结合使用扎扎线术和敏锐的观察力证明了毛细血管的存在，证明了血液循环。在此，根据我们对光学相干断层扫描（OCT）的新型应用的发展，我们报告了一些发现，这些发现直接证实了袖带充气对小至30μm的微血管的影响。通过模拟Harvey的证据，在存在和不存在皮肤加热的情况下在低压下使用袖带充气，我们对体内微血管直径和密度的显着影响进行了成像和量化。施加袖带压可显着增加微血管直径（40.5±4.6 vs 47.1±3.9 µm，P  = 0.01）和密度（8.33±4.3 vs 15.1±4.9％，P < .01）。袖带放气可逆转这些影响。我们的研究还表明，皮肤加热对 体内微血管直径（46.7±5.8 vs 70.6±7.8 µm，P  <.01）和密度（14.2±6.5 vs 43.2±9％，P <.01）产生深远影响，分别是袖带充气进一步加剧了这种情况。我们对人类皮肤微脉管系统进行直接可视化的方法是非侵入性，安全且易于应用的。未来的实验可能针对微血管生理学和病理生理学的问题，例如不同的哺乳动物如何调节体温以及心血管疾病和糖尿病对微血管结构和功能的影响。