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Biaxial Response of Passive Human Cerebral Arteries

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Abstract

The cerebral circulation is fundamental to the health and maintenance of brain tissue, but injury and disease may result in dysfunction of the vessels. Characterization of cerebral vessel mechanical response is an important step toward a more complete understanding of injury mechanisms and disease development in these vessels, paving the way for improved prevention and treatment. We recently reported a large series of uniaxial tests on fresh human cerebral vessels, but the multi-axial behavior of these vessels has not been previously described. Twelve arteries were obtained from the surface of the temporal lobe of patients undergoing surgery and were subjected to various combinations of axial stretch and pressure around typical physiological conditions before being stretched to failure. Axial and circumferential responses were compared, and measured data were fit to a four-parameter, Fung-type hyperelastic constitutive model. Artery behavior was nonlinear and anisotropic, with considerably greater resistance to deformation in the axial direction than around the circumference. Results from axial failure tests of pressurized vessels resulted in a small shift in stress–stretch response compared to previously reported data from unpressurized specimens. These results further define the biaxial response of the cerebral arteries and provide data required for more rigorous study of head injury mechanisms and development of cerebrovascular disease.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this study was provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (R49 CE000460) and the National Institutes of Health (1K25HD048643-01A1). The authors would like to express their appreciation to the fellows and residents of the UCSF Neurosurgery Department, in particular Karl Sillay, M.D., and Paul House, M.D., who assisted in the surgical acquisition of tissue. We also greatly appreciate the help of Tyler Siebert and Aaron Rutman in tissue acquisition and transport.

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  1. Kenneth L. Monson

    Present address: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Utah, 50 S. Central Campus Dr., MEB 2132, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, 1001 Potrero Ave., Building 1, Room 101, San Francisco, CA, 94110, USA

    Kenneth L. Monson, Nicholas M. Barbaro & Geoffrey T. Manley

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  1. Kenneth L. Monson
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  2. Nicholas M. Barbaro
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  3. Geoffrey T. Manley
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Correspondence to Kenneth L. Monson.

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Monson, K.L., Barbaro, N.M. & Manley, G.T. Biaxial Response of Passive Human Cerebral Arteries. Ann Biomed Eng 36, 2028–2041 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-008-9578-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-008-9578-9

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