Kidney Arteriole in 3-D

This image is a 400X magnification of the cross-section of an arteriole (small artery) taken from the kidney of a fetal pig. Forty-two serial sections, when stacked (merged), produced this unexpected, highly colorful and detailed 3-D image.

This image was submitted as part of the 2007 International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge, an effort jointly administered by the National Science Foundation and the journal Science. Winners from the SciViz challenges can be seen at: http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/scivis/index.jsp.

Credit: Donald W. Pottle Schepens Eye Research Institute Boston. MA