Microvasculature of human head and brain

All animals possess unique anatomic variations that help them adapt to their environment. The Grey Parrot Anatomy Project has been established in part to improve upon and create technology that allows the world to study anatomy of any animal. By understanding what is normal, we are better positioned to identify and ultimately treat the abnormal. Discoveries made through the project have already been used on a large variety of animals including humans. BriteVu®, a novel contrast agent developed out of the project allows researchers to see vasculature (with the aid of a CT scan) down to the capillary level. Dr Bruce Wainman of McMaster University in Canada worked with the body donor program to perfuse this human head with BriteVu®. This was the first CT data set that demonstrated the blood vessels of the human head and brain with such great detail. Images such as these are re-writing our understanding of anatomy even in those species that have been regularly studied for over a thousand years.