Ebook: Cardiovascular Soft Tissue Mechanics

This special volume of the Journal of Elasticity represents the first in a new p- gram dedicated to the occasional publication of collections of invited, reviewed papers of topical interest. The purpose of this program is to spotlight the dev- opments and applications in the mechanics of materials within specific areas that can enhance growth and provide insight for the advancement of the field as well as promote fundamental understanding and basic discovery. Soft Tissue Mechanics is an area of biomechanics that draws heavily upon f- damental ideas and material models from nonlinear elasticity and viscoelasticity. A major goal of this research is to understand those mechanics properties of heart, artery, collagen and skeletal muscle tissue that can be used for the diagnosis of health problems and the improvement of human life. This volume illustrates how experiment, modeling and computation is currently employed in this emerging field. May 2001 ROGER FOSDICK Editor-in-Chief Journal of Elasticity 61: ix–xii, 2000. ix Preface There are two primary areas for the application of elasticity in the biomechanics of tissues: hard tissue mechanics (e.g., bone, teeth, horns, etc.) and soft tissue - chanics (e.g., skin, tendons, arteries, etc.). The distinguishing feature between these tissue types is the amount of physiological “normal” deformation they experience. While “hard” tissues only experience small deformations, soft tissues typically experience large deformations. From a biomechanics viewpoint soft tissues fall within the realm of finite elasticity.

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The seven papers of this volume present a glimpse into current research on soft tissue mechanics as well as some future directions. The seven papers concern tissues within the cardiovascular system: three focus on arteries, three on the heart, and one on biaxial testing of planar tissues such as heart valves. Given that cardiovascular disease continues to be the leading cause of death in the developed world, the importance of such research is clear.

There are notable common features of the seven papers. First, most of the proposed constitutive relations are motivated directly by data on the underlying microstructure, and especially the orientations of a structurally important protein (collagen) that forms as undulated cross-linked fibers. Another feature of most of the papers is the consideration of the fact that both arteries and the heart contain muscle and that there is a need to quantify the so-called active (contractile) response in addition to the passive (non-contractile) response. Such relations must not only be structurally motivated, they must ultimately include the kinetics of calcium transport in the muscle. Constitutive relations for active behavior are discussed in the majority of the papers. The growth and remodeling of cardiovascular tissues is another common feature of the papers. Over the last twenty years, separate advances in biochemistry, cell biology, genetic engineering, and biomechanics have focused attention on the ubiquitous role of growth and remodeling of tissues.

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The seven papers of this volume present a glimpse into current research on soft tissue mechanics as well as some future directions. The seven papers concern tissues within the cardiovascular system: three focus on arteries, three on the heart, and one on biaxial testing of planar tissues such as heart valves. Given that cardiovascular disease continues to be the leading cause of death in the developed world, the importance of such research is clear.

There are notable common features of the seven papers. First, most of the proposed constitutive relations are motivated directly by data on the underlying microstructure, and especially the orientations of a structurally important protein (collagen) that forms as undulated cross-linked fibers. Another feature of most of the papers is the consideration of the fact that both arteries and the heart contain muscle and that there is a need to quantify the so-called active (contractile) response in addition to the passive (non-contractile) response. Such relations must not only be structurally motivated, they must ultimately include the kinetics of calcium transport in the muscle. Constitutive relations for active behavior are discussed in the majority of the papers. The growth and remodeling of cardiovascular tissues is another common feature of the papers. Over the last twenty years, separate advances in biochemistry, cell biology, genetic engineering, and biomechanics have focused attention on the ubiquitous role of growth and remodeling of tissues.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xii
A new Constitutive Framework for Arterial Wall Mechanics and a Comparative Study of Material Models....Pages 1-48
Structure, Mechanical Properties, and Mechanics of Intracranial Saccular Aneurysms....Pages 49-81
A Model of Arterial Adaptation to Alterations in Blood Flow....Pages 83-111
Computational Mechanics of the Heart....Pages 113-141
Effect of Laminar Orthotropic Myofiber Architecture on Regional Stress and Strain in the Canine Left Ventricle....Pages 143-164
Modeling Heart Development....Pages 165-197
Biaxial Mechanical Evaluation of Planar Biological Materials....Pages 199-246

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The seven papers of this volume present a glimpse into current research on soft tissue mechanics as well as some future directions. The seven papers concern tissues within the cardiovascular system: three focus on arteries, three on the heart, and one on biaxial testing of planar tissues such as heart valves. Given that cardiovascular disease continues to be the leading cause of death in the developed world, the importance of such research is clear.

There are notable common features of the seven papers. First, most of the proposed constitutive relations are motivated directly by data on the underlying microstructure, and especially the orientations of a structurally important protein (collagen) that forms as undulated cross-linked fibers. Another feature of most of the papers is the consideration of the fact that both arteries and the heart contain muscle and that there is a need to quantify the so-called active (contractile) response in addition to the passive (non-contractile) response. Such relations must not only be structurally motivated, they must ultimately include the kinetics of calcium transport in the muscle. Constitutive relations for active behavior are discussed in the majority of the papers. The growth and remodeling of cardiovascular tissues is another common feature of the papers. Over the last twenty years, separate advances in biochemistry, cell biology, genetic engineering, and biomechanics have focused attention on the ubiquitous role of growth and remodeling of tissues.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xii
A new Constitutive Framework for Arterial Wall Mechanics and a Comparative Study of Material Models....Pages 1-48
Structure, Mechanical Properties, and Mechanics of Intracranial Saccular Aneurysms....Pages 49-81
A Model of Arterial Adaptation to Alterations in Blood Flow....Pages 83-111
Computational Mechanics of the Heart....Pages 113-141
Effect of Laminar Orthotropic Myofiber Architecture on Regional Stress and Strain in the Canine Left Ventricle....Pages 143-164
Modeling Heart Development....Pages 165-197
Biaxial Mechanical Evaluation of Planar Biological Materials....Pages 199-246
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