Purpose: The response of the upper and lower thoracic aorta to radial tensi
le stresses was compared with the response to circumferential and longitudi
nal stresses to understand the role of tensile stress in the tearing phase
of an aortic dissection.
Methods: Square tissue samples (1.6 by 1.6 cm) were cut from the upper and
lower segments of six porcine thoracic aortas and were elongated in the rad
ial direction with a tensile testing machine. The radial extensibility of t
he thoracic aorta was compared with adjacent tissue samples that were teste
d in tension in the circumferential and longitudinal directions based on Yo
ung's modulus (ie, the ratio of tensile stress to strain).
Results: The elastic properties of the thoracic aorta in the radial directi
on were markedly different from both the circumferential and longitudinal p
roperties. The average Young's modulus (calculated immediately before faili
ng) was significantly lower in the radial direction for both the upper and
lower thoracic segments (61.4 +/- 4.3 kPa, SEM) than the Young's modulus of
corresponding segments in the circumferential and longitudinal directions
that were not tested to failure (151.1 +/- 8.6 kPa and 112.7 +/- 9.2 kPa, r
espectively; P < .05). Sections 7 mu m thick were collected from four sampl
es obtained from one upper thoracic aorta that were strained at 0, 1.0, 2.5
, and 4.0 and then stained either with Movat's pentachrome or with hematoxy
lin and eosin. Histological analysis of the samples stressed in the radial
direction revealed that smooth muscle cells were torn loose from their atta
chments to each other and to adjacent elastin.
Conclusion: Although the aorta normally functions under radial compressive
stresses associated with lumen blood pressure, these results show that the
aorta tears radially at a much lower value of stress than would have been p
redicted from previous studies that have reported longitudinal and circumfe
rential Young's modulus. This could explain why dissections propagate readi
ly once the initial tear occurs.