Compliance of a Biocomposite Vascular Tissue in Longitudinal and Circumferential Directions as a Basis for Creating Artificial Substitutes

Abstract

Experimental studies on the mechanical behavior of 11 human common carotid arteries at different values of internal pressure and axial force were performed on a device allowing us to measure the internal pressure, axial force, and circumferential and longitudinal deformations of the vessel. The persons age ranged from 20 to 28 years. Two types of experiments were carried out. In the first series, cylindrical samples were gradually loaded by an internal pressure from 0 to 200 mmHg at different longitudinal stretch ratios. The second series included axial extension of the same samples at different circumferential stretch ratios. The undulation level of elastin membranes in longitudinal and circumferential directions for samples fixated at different values of internal pressure and longitudinal stretch ratio were determined from histological data.