Theory 39/Tissue/Angiogenesis
Capillary Spacing Is Demand
The claim
Capillary spacing is set by the ratio of oxygen demand to diffusive supply, so a tissue with higher metabolic rate is vascularised more densely at the same size.
01Mechanism
Vessels grow toward hypoxic regions; the spacing at which oxygen falls below a threshold sets the trigger.
02Prediction
Spacing should track the ratio.
03Refutation
Spacing tracking tissue size would remove demand.