Effect of the biochemical composition of the wall of the vessels of the human thigh on its mechanical properties

The principal characteristics of the mechanical properties of the walls of the human femoral artery and great saphenous vein and their variation with age have been experimentally determined. Macroscopic and microscopic analyses have revealed characteristic age-related changes in the artery and vein walls. The concentrations of six principal biochemical components of the vessel walls have been determined for each age group and the rank correlation coefficients for the principal mechanical properties and biochemical components have been analyzed.Institute of Polymer Mechanics, Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR, Riga; Riga Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 2, pp. 316–327, March–April, 1974.