Morphometry of arterioles and capillaries in hearts of senescent mice

Aging of the murine myocardium is characterised by important changes at the level of the terminal vascular bed, the most prominent being a decrease in capillary and arteriolar density. The decrease in arteriolar density is most prominent in the classes of smallest vessels. All these changes represent an impairment of geometrical conditions for the oxygen supply to the myocardial tissue.