Viscoelastic behavior of human connective tissues: relative contribution of viscous and elastic components.

Stress-relaxation tests were performed at successive strain levels on strips of human aorta, skin, psoas tendon, dura mater, and pericardium. The elastic fraction, the equilibrium force divided by the initial force, was calculated at each strain increment. In the aorta, the elastic fraction decreased with strain and was modeled as the transfer of stress from elastic to collagen fibers, while in skin it increased with strain, probably due to the rearrangement of individual collagen fiber orientations, resulting in an aligned collagen network at high strains. The strain-independent elastic fractions for tendon, dura mater, and pericardium were similar, and approximately equal to the values found for aorta and skin at high strains. It was hypothesized that the elastic fraction is related to the type of fiber loaded, and the tissue geometry. This analysis may be useful in studying disease-induced changes in the mechanical properties of connective tissues.

[1]  M. Lebwohl,et al.  Pseudoxanthoma elasticum and mitral-valve prolapse. , 1982, The New England journal of medicine.

[2]  L. Gotte.  Recent observations on the structure and composition of elastin. , 1977, Advances in experimental medicine and biology.

[3]  P. Byers,et al.  Marfan syndrome: abnormal alpha 2 chain in type I collagen. , 1981, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[4]  R P Vito,et al.  The role of the pericardium in cardiac mechanics. , 1979, Journal of biomechanics.

[5]  V. McKusick,et al.  The Marfan syndrome: diagnosis and management. , 1979, The New England journal of medicine.

[6]  Stephen A. Wainwright,et al.  Mechanical Design in Organisms , 2020 .

[7]  P J Flory,et al.  The elastic properties of elastin , 1974, Biopolymers.

[8]  R. Sanjeevi,et al.  A viscoelastic model for the mechanical properties of biological materials. , 1982, Journal of biomechanics.

[9]  S. Rabkin,et al.  Mechanical properties of the isolated canine pericardium. , 1974, Journal of applied physiology.

[10]  D. Patterson,et al.  Defects in collagen fibrillogenesis causing hyperextensible, fragile skin in dogs. , 1983, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

[11]  G. Hutchins,et al.  Ehlers-Danlos syndrome with abnormal collagen fibrils, sinus of Valsalva aneurysms, myocardial infarction, panacinar emphysema and cerebral heterotopias. , 1981, The American journal of medicine.

[12]  R M Kenedi,et al.  The mobile micro‐architecture of dermal collagen: A bio‐engineering study , 1965, The British journal of surgery.

[13]  E. Baer,et al.  The multicomposite structure of tendon. , 1978, Connective tissue research.

[14]  J. Mcelhaney,et al.  A viscoelastic study of scalp, brain, and dura. , 1970, Journal of biomechanics.

[15]  R J Minns,et al.  The role of the fibrous components and ground substance in the mechanical properties of biological tissues: a preliminary investigation. , 1973, Journal of biomechanics.

[16]  C A Hoeve,et al.  The glass point of elastin. , 1975, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[17]  Alexander A. Maximow,et al.  A Textbook of Histology , 1935, The Indian Medical Gazette.

[18]  S. Ling,et al.  The mechanics of corrugated collagen fibrils in arteries. , 1977, Journal of biomechanics.

[19]  V. McKusick,et al.  Patients with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type IV lack type III collagen. , 1975, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[20]  R. Timpl,et al.  Ultrastructural identification of extension aminopropeptides of type I and III collagens in human skin. , 1981, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[21]  Henry Eyring,et al.  The Mechanical Properties of Rat Tail Tendon , 1959, The Journal of general physiology.

[22]  D R Boughner,et al.  Tissue Mechanics of Canine Pericardium in Different Test Environments: Evidence for Time‐Dependent Accommodation, Absence of Plasticity, and New Roles for Collagen and Elastin , 1981, Circulation research.

[23]  Y. Fung,et al.  The Meaning of the Constitutive Equation , 1981 .

[24]  J. P. Holt,et al.  The normal pericardium. , 1970, The American journal of cardiology.

[25]  J. E. Mark,et al.  Thermoelasticity of swollen elastin networks at constant composition , 1980 .

[26]  H. Elden,et al.  Biophysical properties of the skin , 1971 .

[27]  M. Sharma.  Viscoelastic behavior of conduit arteries. , 1974, Biorheology.

[28]  A. Viidik.  Functional properties of collagenous tissues. , 1973, International review of connective tissue research.

[29]  R. W. Little,et al.  A constitutive equation for collagen fibers. , 1972, Journal of biomechanics.

[30]  M Abrahams,et al.  Mechanical behaviour of tendon in vitro. A preliminary report. , 1967, Medical & biological engineering.

[31]  Robert E. Cohen,et al.  A model for the creep behaviour of tendon , 1979 .

[32]  A. Craig,et al.  Quantitative electron microscope observations of the collagen fibrils in rat‐tail tendon , 1977, Biopolymers.

[33]  F. Silver,et al.  Model conformations of the carboxyl telopeptides in vivo based on type I collagen fibral banding patterns. , 1983, Collagen and related research.

[34]  W. Roberts,et al.  Histologic and ultrastructural features of normal human parietal pericardium. , 1980, The American journal of cardiology.

[35]  D. Urry,et al.  Molecular Perspectives of Vascular Wall Structure and Disease: The Elastic Component , 2015, Perspectives in biology and medicine.