INTIMAL THICKENING AND FRAGMENTATION OF THE INTERNAL ELASTIC LAMINA IN THE MESENTERIC-ARTERIES

To evaluate the intimal thickness and continuity of the internal elast ic lamina (IEL) in the mesenteric arteries, proximal segments of the c oeliac artery (CA), superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and inferior mese nteric artery (IMA) were studied light microscopically in 123 consecut ive postmortem examinations. The mean age of the subjects was 62 years . Arterial segments were fixed in formalin, embedded in paraffin block s, sectioned, and stained with Masson's trichrome. Fifty-one per cent of the samples examined showed at least minimal intimal thickening. Th e occurrence of significant luminal narrowing increased with age. We f ound a positive correlation between defects in the IEL and thickness o f the intima in the mesenteric arteries, which is in harmony with prev ious observations showing marked fragmentation of the IEL in atherogen esis.