Open Access
ARTICLE
Circumferential variation in mechanical characteristics of porcine descending aorta
LINGFENG CHEN1,2,3, ZHIPENG GAO1,2,3, BAIMEI LIU1,2,3, YING LV1,2,3, MEIWEN AN1,2,3,*, JILING FENG4,*
1
Institute of Applied Mechanics and Biomedical Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
2
Shanxi Key Laboratory of Material Strength & Structural Impact, College of Mechanics, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
3
National Demonstration Center for Experimental Mechanics Education (Taiyuan university of Technology), Taiyuan 030024, China
4
School of engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
* Address correspondence to: Meiwen An, ; Jiling Feng,
BIOCELL 2018, 42(1), 25-34. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2018.06114
Abstract
Arterial characterization of healthy descending thoracic aorta (DTA) is indispensable in determining stress
distributions across wall thickness and different regions that may be responsible for aorta inhomogeneous dilation,
rupture, and dissection when aneurysm occurs. Few studies have shown the inhomogeneity of DTA along the aorta
tree considering changes in circumferential direction. The present study aims to clarify the circumferential regional
characterization of DTA. Porcine DTA tissues were tested according to region and orientation using uniaxial tension.
For axial test, results show that the difference in circumferential direction was mainly in collagen fiber modulus, where
the anterior collagen fiber modulus was significantly lower than the posterior quadrant. For circumferential test, the
difference in circumferential direction was mainly in the recruitment parameter, where the circumferential stiffness is
significantly higher in the posterior region at physiological maximum stress. The proximal posterior quadrant and left
quadrant showed significantly lower axial collagen fiber stiffness than the right and anterior quadrants, which may be
a factor in aneurysm development. Furthermore, the constitutive parameters for similar detailed regions can be used
by biomedical engineers to investigate improved therapies and thoroughly understand the initial stage of aneurysm
development. The regional collagen fiber modulus can help improve our understanding of the mechanisms of arterial
dilation and aortic dissection.
Keywords
Cite This Article
CHEN, L., GAO, Z., LIU, B., LV, Y., AN, M. et al. (2018). Circumferential variation in mechanical characteristics of porcine descending aorta.
BIOCELL, 42(1), 25–34.
Citations