Now in our 13th year of bringing you beautiful imagery from biomedical science every day

Search the archive of over 4000 images

Visualising Vessels

A detailed view of tumour blood supply improving diagnosis and therapy

11 June 2020

Visualising Vessels

Just like healthy tissues, tumours need a blood supply to receive vital nutrients. But unlike healthy tissues, their blood supply is often chaotic. Doctors often treat tumours by taking advantage of their blood supply to deliver chemotherapy. The effectiveness of this treatment depends in part on the spread of blood vessels across the tumour. More detailed imaging of tumour blood supply could therefore help doctors more effectively treat cancer. Researchers test an imaging technique called ultrasound localisation microscopy (ULM) on live mouse kidney tumours grafted into chicken embryos. ULM images of the tumours (pictured) revealed structural and physiological details of their blood supply, including the speed of blood flow, represented by different colours. These images were compared to detailed histology images of fixed, that is non-living, tumour tissues, which confirmed the accuracy of ULM. This supports the development of ULM as a tool to aid cancer treatment in patients.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

Search The Archive

Submit An Image

Follow on Tumblr

Follow on Instagram

What is BPoD?

BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

Read More

BPoD is also available in Catalan at www.bpod.cat with translations by the University of Valencia.