In vivo characterization of the murine venous system before and during dobutamine stimulation: implications for preclinical models of venous disease.

Although widely used as a preclinical model for studying venous diseases, there is a scarcity of in vivo characterizations of the naïve murine venous system. Additionally, previous studies on naïve veins (ex vivo) have not included the influence of surrounding structures and biomechanical forces. Using MRI, we noninvasively quantified the cross-sectional area, cyclic strain, and circularity of the venous system in young and old, male and female C57BL/6 mice.