Fig. 1. Effects of thoracic epidural anesthesia on hepatic microcirculation in acute pancreatitis. Sinusoidal width ( A ) and percentage of nonperfused sinusoids ( B ) 15 h after induction of acute pancreatitis or sham procedure. In Pancreatitis, sinusoidal vasoconstriction occurred and sinusoidal perfusion was reduced (* P < 0.05 vs. Sham). Thoracic epidural anesthesia (TEA) prevented vasoconstriction (§ P < 0.05 vs. Pancreatitis) but could not influence loss of sinusoids. Data are presented as mean with the error bar denoting the 95% confidence interval; n = 7 in each group.