Chantereau P, Brieu M, Kammal M, Farthmann J, Gabriel B, Cosson M
Department of Gynaecology, Jeanne de Flandre Hospital-CHRU de Lille; Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale U703, University Nord de France, Lille, France,
Int Urogynecol J. 2014 Nov;25(11):1547-53. doi: 10.1007/s00192-014-2439-1. Epub 2014 Jul 10.
The female pelvic floor is a complex network of ligaments and muscles whose mechanical properties have not been completely understood. The goal of this study is to understand the biomechanical properties of the pelvic floor tissues of young women and the impact of aging.
Biomechanical uniaxial tension tests were performed on pelvic floor tissues (ligaments and organs) of six young female cadavers (average 29 years old). Results have been analyzed in order to define the characteristics of the mechanical properties of young pelvic soft tissues. Results have been compared with those in the literature in order to understand the similarities and discrepancies between young and old patients.
Damageable, nonlinear elastic biomechanical behavior is observed. The variation in stiffness among the pelvic floor organs could be shown. Ligaments and the vaginal wall are the most rigid organs, whereas the rectum and bladder tend to be less rigid (approximately two times less rigid for small deformations and three times less rigid for large deformations). This study shows that ligaments and the vaginal wall of young women have similar mechanical behavior while those of older women differ. Furthermore, young women's tissues differ slightly from older women's tissues.
Results show that aging and possibly diverse "trauma" have an impact on modifying the mechanical behavior of pelvic floor tissues. Over time pelvic floor ligaments and vaginal tissues will differentiate and acquire different mechanical behavior, as seen within the literature in older cadavers.
女性盆底是一个由韧带和肌肉组成的复杂网络，其力学特性尚未完全明确。本研究的目的是了解年轻女性盆底组织的生物力学特性以及衰老的影响。
对6具年轻女性尸体（平均年龄29岁）的盆底组织（韧带和器官）进行生物力学单轴拉伸试验。对结果进行分析以确定年轻盆底软组织力学特性的特征。将结果与文献中的结果进行比较，以了解年轻和老年患者之间的异同。
观察到易损的非线性弹性生物力学行为。可以显示盆底器官之间的刚度变化。韧带和阴道壁是最坚韧的器官，而直肠和膀胱的坚韧程度往往较低（小变形时约低两倍，大变形时约低三倍）。本研究表明，年轻女性的韧带和阴道壁具有相似的力学行为，而老年女性则不同。此外，年轻女性的组织与老年女性的组织略有差异。
结果表明，衰老以及可能的各种“创伤”会影响盆底组织力学行为的改变。随着时间的推移，盆底韧带和阴道组织会分化并获得不同的力学行为，如在老年尸体的文献中所见。
