Newman D L, Lallemand R C
Surg Gynecol Obstet. 1978 Aug;147(2):211-4.
The variation with age in distensibility and the dimensions of the abdominal aorta at the bifurcation have been measured in 43 fresh human cadavers. The age range was from birth to 69 years, both sexes being represented. Patients with vascular disease were excluded. Barium sulfate infused into the aorta through an iliac artery enabled the change in diameter to be measured from a roentgenogram with change in pressure. Incremental strain value could thus be calculated. Strain value increased from 0.02 at birth to a maximum at the end of the first decade of life and then decreased to less than 0.01 by the age of 70 years. Aortas in the age group of four to 11 years showed less stiffness with increasing pressure than at other ages. Variations of strain with age correlate with alterations in the ratio of aortic wall collagen to elastin in the young. An increase in the thickness of the wall and an atheroma, in response to prolonged hemodynamic stress, account for increased stiffness in the older age groups. Other age and disease factors may play a part, but further work is required in man to examine the role of relative wall thickness, elastic modulus and alteration in wall structure in determining the variation of aortic distensibility with age reported herein.
在43具新鲜人体尸体上测量了腹主动脉在分叉处的扩张性及尺寸随年龄的变化情况。年龄范围从出生至69岁，涵盖了男女两性。患有血管疾病的患者被排除在外。通过髂动脉将硫酸钡注入主动脉，从而能够根据压力变化从X线照片上测量直径变化，进而计算出增量应变值。应变值从出生时的0.02增加到生命的第一个十年末达到最大值，然后到70岁时降至小于0.01。4至11岁年龄组的主动脉在压力增加时显示出比其他年龄时更小的硬度。应变随年龄的变化与年轻人主动脉壁胶原蛋白与弹性蛋白比例的改变相关。由于长期血流动力学应激，主动脉壁厚度增加及出现动脉粥样硬化，导致老年组主动脉硬度增加。其他年龄和疾病因素可能也起作用，但还需要在人体上开展进一步研究，以探讨相对壁厚度、弹性模量及壁结构改变在决定本文报道的主动脉扩张性随年龄变化方面所起的作用。
