Experimental investigation of collagen waviness and orientation in the arterial adventitia using confocal laser scanning microscopy

Mechanical properties of the adventitia are largely determined by the organization of collagen fibers. Measurements on the waviness and orientation of collagen, particularly at the zero-stress state, are necessary to relate the structural organization of collagen to the mechanical response of the adventitia. Using the fluorescence collagen marker CNA38-OG488 and confocal laser scanning microscopy, we imaged collagen fibers in the adventitia of rabbit common carotid arteries ex vivo. The arteries were cut open along their longitudinal axes to get the zero-stress state. We used semi-manual and automatic techniques to measure parameters related to the waviness and orientation of fibers. Our results showed that…

• NS
  National Science Foundation
• SN
  Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung