Fig. 2. 3D reconstruction of the conduits. A thymic cryostat section 10 µm in thickness was labeled with antibodies against the laminin 2 chain (shown in red) and tenascin-C (shown in green) and subjected to confocal microscopy. An automated `Z-scan' generated a set of merged 2D pictures that were fused into a 3D depiction of the area of interest by the Imaris® software. The 3D pictures can be sectioned at every angle. In the longitudinal section (A), as well as in the cross-section (B), a tubular structure consisting of a LN-5-containing membrane (red) surrounded by a tenascin-C-containing sheath can be clearly observed. [A virtual journey through the thymic conduits can be viewed at http://www.wewe-design.de/klein.]