Gössl Mario, Rosol Michael, Malyar Nasser M, Fitzpatrick Lorraine A, Beighley Patricia E, Zamir Mair, Ritman Erik L
Physiological Imaging Research Laboratory, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota 55905, USA.
Anat Rec A Discov Mol Cell Evol Biol. 2003 Jun;272(2):526-37. doi: 10.1002/ar.a.10060.
In this study vasa vasorum in the walls of porcine coronary arteries were examined, using three-dimensional (3D) micro-CT scanning techniques. These techniques leave the 3D structure of the vasa vasorum tree intact and thus provide a much more direct view of this structure than is possible from conventional histological sections. The study demonstrates-for the first time, we believe-both the different types and the fine architecture of these vasa vasorum. Furthermore, with the use of automated tree analysis software, it was possible to obtain quantitative geometrical data on the 3D structure of vasa vasorum trees that have not previously been available. The results indicate that despite the restrictive topology of the space in which they are present, the branching architecture of the vasa vasorum trees, which we surveyed, is surprisingly similar to that of vasculature in general. The volume of vessel wall tissue perfused or drained by a vasa vasorum tree was found to correlate well with the cross-sectional area of the root segment of the vasa vasorum tree, and the luminal surface area corresponding to this volume was found to be comparable with the surface area of an early atherosclerotic lesion. This is consistent with earlier findings that the ligation or removal of vasa vasorum leads to atherogenesis.
在本研究中，我们使用三维（3D）显微CT扫描技术对猪冠状动脉壁中的血管滋养管进行了检查。这些技术使血管滋养管树的三维结构保持完整，因此与传统组织学切片相比，能提供更直接的该结构视图。我们相信，这项研究首次展示了这些血管滋养管的不同类型和精细结构。此外，通过使用自动树分析软件，能够获得以前无法获得的关于血管滋养管树三维结构的定量几何数据。结果表明，尽管血管滋养管所处空间的拓扑结构有限，但我们所研究的血管滋养管树的分支结构与一般脉管系统的分支结构惊人地相似。发现由血管滋养管树灌注或引流的血管壁组织体积与血管滋养管树根段的横截面积密切相关，并且发现对应于该体积的管腔表面积与早期动脉粥样硬化病变的表面积相当。这与早期关于结扎或去除血管滋养管会导致动脉粥样硬化形成的研究结果一致。
