This document describes the process of isolating and studying small blood vessels from rats. Key points: - Small blood vessels less than 60 microns in diameter are isolated from the rat middle cerebral artery. - The isolated blood vessels are set up in a pressure myograph system to study their response to various pharmacological and physiological stimuli while being heated, superfused, and having flow controlled. - Solutions are prepared to maintain the isolated blood vessels, including a physiological salt solution (PSS) and calcium-free PSS solution. - The middle cerebral artery is isolated after anesthetizing and decapitating a rat. It is incubated in oxygenated PSS solution. - An experimental protocol is described