**5.1 Capillary shape**

A normal capillary has a safety pin or inverted U appearance with an arterial and venous limbs. The venous arm is larger than the arterial arm. However, the capillary loops may exhibit morphological variations, such as crossed or meandering loops (with intertwining). Bushy or excessively tortuous capillaries are seen in scleroderma, mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD), and dermatomyositis.
