Figure 3

Blast-induced vascular pathology at the margins of shear-related injuries. Sections of the primary visual cortex from a rat that received 3 × 74.5 kPa blast exposures and was sacrificed 10 months after the last exposure. Sections were immunostained for collagen IV (green) and GFAP (red). Nuclei were stained with DAPI (blue) and the sections were imaged by confocal microscopy. Panel B shows a higher power image of the vessel indicated by the arrow in panel A. Panel D shows a higher power image of the region in panel C indicated by the arrow. The site of a cortical tear is indicated by asterisks in panels A and C. Note the tortuosity of the vessel (likely an arteriole) in panel B. In panel D collagenous remnants appear in the presence of gliosis. Panels E shows a normal appearing vessel from the same animal located away from the immediate borders of the lesions. Panel F shows a normal vessel from a control animal. Scale bar: 200 μm A and C; 20 μm B, D, E and F.