The biomechanical behaviour of the bridging vein-superior sagittal sinus complex with implications for the mechanopathology of acute subdural haematoma.
BACKGROUND
Traumatic brain injury is expected to become the major cause of death and disability for children and young adults by the year 2020. One of the most frequent and most morbid pathologies resulted from a head trauma is acute subdural haematoma (ASDH). For nearly one third of the ASDH cases the etiopathology directly relates to a bridging vein (BV) rupture.


METHODS
In the current study the bridging vein-superior sagittal sinus (BV-SSS) units were axially stretched until failure for strain rates ranging from 2.66s(-1) to 185.61s(-1), in order to investigate any strain rate dependency in their mechanical behaviour.


RESULTS
Results showed that up to 200s(-1), the effect of the strain rate on veins' mechanical behaviour is outweighed by the large morphological intra- and inter-individual variations. Gender had a strong influence on the BVs geometrical description, but exerted no direct influence on the BV biomechanical parameters. Veins' dimensions had the strongest influence on the BV mechanical behaviour and on the failure mechanism.


CONCLUSIONS
The present study brings important contribution to the ASDH research, emphasising the importance of considering the BV-SSS complex as a whole when trying to describe the ASDH mechanopathology.
Division of Experimental Neurosurgery and Neuroanatomy, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, UZ Herestraat 49 - box 7003, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; Biomechanics Section, K.U. Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 300 - box 2419, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium. Electronic address: moneaaida@yahoo.com.
Aida Georgeta
AG
Monea
Biomechanics Section, K.U. Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 300 - box 2419, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium. Electronic address: katrien.baeck@mech.kuleuven.be.
Katrien
K
Baeck
Translational Cell and Tissue Research, K.U. Leuven, Minderbroedersstraat 12 blok q - box 1032, 3000 Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address: erik.verbeken@med.kuleuven.be.
Eric
E
Verbeken
Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering (MTM), K.U. Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 44 - box 2450, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium. Electronic address: ignaas.verpoest@mtm.kuleuven.be.
Ignaas
I
Verpoest
Biomechanics Section, K.U. Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 300 - box 2419, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium. Electronic address: jos.vandersloten@mech.kuleuven.be.
Jos Vander
JV
Sloten
Division of Experimental Neurosurgery and Neuroanatomy, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, UZ Herestraat 49 - box 7003, 3000 Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address: jan.goffin@med.kuleuven.be.
Jan
J
Goffin
Division of Experimental Neurosurgery and Neuroanatomy, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, UZ Herestraat 49 - box 7003, 3000 Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address: bart.depreitere@med.kuleuven.be.
Bart
B
Depreitere
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D005260:Female; D020342:Finite Element Analysis; D020199:Hematoma, Subdural, Acute; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008422:Materials Testing; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012737:Sex Factors; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D054063:Superior Sagittal Sinus; D014680:Veins
Acute subdural haematoma; Longitudinal stretch; Parasagittal bridging veins; Strain rate; Superior sagittal sinus; Uniaxial tensile test