title: Experimental evidence of the compressibility of arteries.
abstract: A definitive answer to the question whether artery walls are incompressible is to our opinion not yet categorically provided. Experimental-based evidence on the level of compressibility in artery walls is not easily achieved because of the difficulties associated with the measurement of very small differences in volumes under physiological pressure in these biological tissues. Past experiments aimed at addressing the question considered different species, different arteries, the experimental devices were not accurate enough and a statistical analysis of the results was missing. A precise experimental device together with a thorough testing protocol, a careful selection of arteries and a statistical analysis is presented for a definitive evaluation of the artery wall compressibility. We provide experimental evidence that in saphenous and femoral porcine arteries under physiological pressure range a relative compressibility of 2-6% is observed. The pre-assumption of incompressibility in many phenomenological constitutive models of artery walls should probably be re-evaluated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel. Electronic address: zohary@bgu.ac.il.
authors.forename: Zohar
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yosibash
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel.
authors.forename: Itay
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Manor
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel.
authors.forename: Ilan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gilad
authors.affiliation: Lahav CRO, Kibbutz Lahav 85335, Israel.
authors.forename: Udi
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Willentz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001011:Aorta / Q000473:pathology; D001158:Arteries / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002138:Calibration; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000473:pathology; D004548:Elasticity; D005263:Femoral Artery / Q000473:pathology; D005269:Femur / Q000473:pathology; D008422:Materials Testing; D015233:Models, Statistical; D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate / Q000737:chemistry; D012501:Saphenous Vein / Q000473:pathology; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013552:Swine
chemical_list: D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate
keywords: Artery; Compressibility; Experimental observations