Fig. 1

Different nailfold videocapillaroscopic (NVC) features observed in our patients with systemic sclerosis. a and b A series of dilated capillaries. a None of the observed capillaries reaches the limit of 50 μm and so were not defined as giant capillaries (GCs), the larger one having a diameter of 35 μm. b One of these capillaries has a diameter of 83 μm, so it can be classified as a GC. c An NVC picture where one deposit of hemosiderin (1) indicating a previous micro-haemorrhage is present distal to the capillaries aligned in the cuticle. Multiple micro-thromboses are evident in the largely dilated capillaries, and a hemosiderin deposit can be observed distally in the right side of (d), just distal to capillary 6. In (c) and (d), the number of micro-haemorrhages and micro-thromboses scores were 2 and 49, and the European Scleroderma Study Group index scores were 1 and 7, respectively