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Figure 2 | Critical Care

Figure 2

From: Bench-to-bedside review: Mechanisms of critical illness – classifying microcirculatory flow abnormalities in distributive shock

Figure 2

A classification system for categorizing sublingual microcirculatory flow abnormalities seen in distributive shock as observed by OPS/sidestream dark-field imaging. Each class consists of a venule with two capillaries. In this way, the heterogeneity of the capillary flow is described by showing the two most characteristic types of flow seen. Solid arrows depict normal flow whereas the striped arrows represent hyperdynamic flow. No arrow depicts stagnant flow (examples of real-time films of each class of abnormality can be downloaded from our web site [43]).

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Critical Care

ISSN: 1364-8535