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8
Magnetic Field Inuences
on the Microcirculation
Chiyoji Ohkubo and Hideyuki Okano
8.1 INTRODUCTION
Microcirculation consists of structurally and functionally differentiated small blood vessels: small
muscular arteries, arterioles, metarterioles, capillaries, postcapillary venules, venules, and lym-
phatic capillaries (reviewed by Ohkubo and Okano, 2004). In the cutaneous microvascular beds, the
connection between the arterioles and the venules is made by some thoroughfare channels including
capillaries or arteriolar–venular shunts. In most vascular beds, the precapillary resistance vessels
are responsible for the largest function of the resistance ...