Capillaries in human skeletal muscle (100X)

These set of images colored by thionine/paraphenylenediamine show a cross section of sceletal muscle. They are chosen so that you'll get a grip of the actual scale and size of the capillaries in human tissue. The capillaries lie as small circular structures in the connective tissue between the striated muscle fibers. The capillaries consist only of endothelium and a basement membrane, but no smooth muscle fibers. The walls of capillaries are only one cell thick, which allows for the easy exchange of gases, nutrients, and waste products between the blood and surrounding tissues.