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Abstract
Transmission electron microscopy of ultrathin sections was used to measure mouse retinal capillary basement membrane thickness (BMT). BMT increases predictably with age from 50 +/- 9 nm at 6 weeks to 154 +/- 27 nm at 20 months, but is not affected by strain or sex. There is an effect of retinal site, however, with BMT increasing with the radial distance from the optic nerve, 41 +/- 4 nm (center), 54 +/- 5 nm (mid-zone), and 64 +/- 6 nm (periphery). The layer of retina from which capillaries were taken had no effect on BMT, and the inner and outer BMT maintained a consistent ratio, even at different ages.