Scaling properties of the placenta's arterial tree.
The purpose of the present work is to establish a basic knowledge about the scaling properties of the placenta's arterial tree. For this end we have analysed X-ray angiograms of 22 normal arterial trees by box counting. All the investigated arterial trees scale closely according to a power-law over a one decade wide range of scales. Perfectly self-similar fractals, of the same resolution as our representation of the arterial tree, do not follow a power-law more closely. The results support the hypothesis that a mechanism or rule--as regular as those which dictate the structure of perfectly self-similar fractals--also determines fundamental aspects of the arterial tree's morphology.
Bergman
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DL
Division of Physical Chemistry, Arrhenius Laboratory, Stockholm University, Sweden.
Ullberg
U
U
D000792:Angiography; D001158:Arteries / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D005260:Female; D017709:Fractals; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D010920:Placenta / Q000098:blood supply*; D011247:Pregnancy