THE ROLE OF TAPER ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS IN THE HUMANINFRARENAL AORTA

The role of vessel taper on the distribution of atherosclerotic lesion s was examined in 11 photographs of human infra-renal aortas, aged 42- 76. The aortas, opened anteriorly and pinned flat with the luminal sur face facing up, were analysed using Mocha Imaging software. The circum ference was measured at intervals of 10 mm and fitted with a third ord er polynomial function. Taper was calculated for three segments within each aorta as the angle produced by the slope of the decrease in circ umference with length. The percent surface area covered by fatty strea ks correlated strongly to the coefficients of the polynomial function, while the raised lesions showed a significant increase with an increa se in taper angles in the different segments. The results suggest tape r plays a role in the distribution of both fatty streaks and raised le sions, however, the nature of the cause and effect remains to be deter mined. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.