Intravital microscopy (IVM) is an essential experimental approach for evaluating, in real time, cell interactions in the blood and rheological parameters in the microcirculation of the living animals. Different tissues are surgically exposed to the visualization of the microvascular network in optical microscopies connected to video cameras and image software. By evaluating in situ microcirculatory network, IVM allows the visualization and quantification of physiological and pathological processes in the blood or in the adjacent tissues considering the whole system. Therefore, IVM has been used to evaluate the effects and mechanisms of actions in the microvascular network caused by pharmacological or toxic chemical agents. In this chapter, different experimental approaches are described to study the toxic effects and mechanisms of xenobiotics in the microcirculatory network.
Keywords: Angiogenesis; Blood; Brain barrier; Dorsal chamber; Endothelial interactions; Fluorescence microscopy; Leukocyte; Mesentery; Nanocompounds.