Neovascularization in the pre- and postnatal rabbit corpora cavernosa penis: light and electron microscopy and autoradiography.
In the late prenatal stage, the rabbit corpora cavernosa penis (cavernous bodies) are occupied by a large number of mesenchymal cells actively proliferating by mitosis. Most profiles of the cavernous sinuses show growing capillaries consisting of immature endothelial cells and enclosing a narrow lumen. Such growing capillaries are often associated with the mesenchymal cells that contact with each other and eventually with the endothelial cells. Between 1 and 7 postnatal days, the capillary network develops extensively and the maturation of the capillaries results in a flattened endothelium with a continuous basal lamina. The mesenchymal cells are also associated with the helicine arterial sprouts at this time period. No endothelial mitotic figures were observed within the growing capillaries in pre- and postnatal specimens examined. Single pulse labeling with 3H-thymidine in the postnatal rabbits demonstrates that the labeled endothelial cells of the growing capillaries increase in number at 48 hours after injection compared with those at 24 hours, whereas the labeled mesenchymal cells inversely decrease in number. These findings indicate that the incorporation of the mesenchymal cells as vessel-forming cells into the growing capillaries accelerates the neovascularization in the rabbit cavernous bodies.