Static Mechanical Characteristics of the Small Collecting Vein and the First-Order Venule in the Denervated Small Intestines of the Wistar, Wistar-Kyoto, and Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats
This study was centered around two basic themes. The first related to the mechanics of the venous system, the second to venous function in hypertension. Since the venous system holds a large fraction of the total peripheral blood volume (and much of this possibly located in the venous microcirculation), and understanding of venule distention characteristics is important. In addition, veins in hypertensive animals appear to be stiffer than their controls; thus microvascular assessment of the hypertensive venous system is needed. The two hypotheses of this project were that (1) wall structure of a venule is a significant factor in determining distension characteristics during venous pressure elevation, and (2) venule wall stiffness is significantly increased in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR).
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign