Internal elastic lamina

Histology

It is readily visualized with light microscopy in sections of muscular arteries, where it is thick and prominent, and arterioles, where it is slightly less prominent and often incomplete. It is very thin in veins and venules.

There is small amount of subendothelial connective tissue between basement membrane of endothelial cells and internal elastic lamina.

Reduplication of internal elastic lamina can be seen in elderly individuals due to intimal fibroplasia, which is part of the aging process.

Associated pathologic conditions

• Damage in giant cell arteritis leads to microaneurysms. Demonstration of fragmentation in this layer by elastin-van Gieson stain aids in diagnosis of giant cell arteritis. It stains muscle tissue in yellow, connective tissue in red and elastic structures (like internal elastic lamina) in black color.
• In chronic allograft nephropathy, disruption or reduplication of internal elastic lamina can be observed, which causes narrowing of the lumen and downstream ischemia.
• In fungal rhinosinusitis, the organism has predilection for internal elastic lamina during phase of spread.

References

References

1. "Study and Revise Histology Online with Meyer's Histology".
2. "Cardiovascular System".
3. (2007). "Histology Image Review". McGraw-Hill.
4. (2005). "Ophthalmic pathology : an illustrated guide for clinicians". Blackwell publishing.
5. (2004). "Clinical Nephrology Dialysis and Transplantation". Dustri-Verlag Feistle.
6. (2001). "Diseases of the sinuses : diagnosis and management". B.C. Decker.