Body Reshaping Program

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A Small Leak

A scanning electron micrograph captures a burst capillary http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capillary, with red blood cells spilling out one at a time. To appreciate the scale of this image, a single human red blood cell is about 8 microns in diameter. You would need to place 1,250 red blood cells in a row to make a line extending a single centimeter – about the width of a sugar cube.

Capillaries are the body’s smallest blood vessels. Some are smaller in diameter than the blood cells they carry. (Red blood cells are quite flexible and easy to bend.) The endothelial linings or walls of capillaries are just one cell layer thick.

It’s not uncommon for capillaries to burst or break. Allergic reactions, infections, the side effects of medications or treatments and physical trauma can all cause ruptures. Bruises are the result of broken blood vessels leaking into surrounding tissue.