Local elastic moduli of bovine and porcine aortic walls measured with pipette aspiration technique

The local elastic moduli of bovine and porcine aortic walls were measured using pipette aspiration technique to understand better the mechanical properties of blood vessel walls. Histological observation was also performed to examine the relationship between local mechanical properties and wall structure. In case of bovine aortae, both axial elastic moduli and circular elastic moduli decreased significantly with increasing h/h₀ which is the ratio of the distance from inner wall, h, and wall thickness h₀. The moduli of porcine aortae were independent of the wall position. Histological observations suggested that the ratio of collagen fiber to elastic fiber and smooth muscle cell in bovine aortae was higher in sub-intimal region than in the mid-wall.