The course of blood vessels in the hip joint capsule of the dog

The course and the arrangement of capsular blood vessels in the joint capsule's wall, together with their extracapsular origins, were investigated using cleared specimens that had been injected with Latex, or Technovit®, or India-ink in serum. Arteries enter areas of the joint capsule's wall near its femoral as well as coxal attachment. The intramural vascular network is arranged in layers which are assigned to the stratum fibrosum and stratum synoviale, with one or two intermediate, less distinct layers in between. The ramification in the network of the stratum fibrosum is mainly stellate. Circular anastomoses connecting the supplied areas are located in the capsule's periphery. In the stratum synoviale, the vascular network is made of close, elongated meshes in a circular extension.