The role of taper on the distribution of atherosclerosis in the human infra-renal aorta Original Research Article

The role of vessel taper on the distribution of atherosclerotic lesions was examined in 11 photographs of human infra-renal aortas, aged 42–76. The aortas, opened anteriorly and pinned flat with the luminal surface facing up, were analysed using Mocha Imaging software. The circumference was measured at intervals of 10 mm and fitted with a third order polynomial function. Taper was calculated for three segments within each aorta as the angle produced by the slope of the decrease in circumference with length. The percent surface area covered by fatty streaks correlated strongly to the coefficients of the polynomial function, while the raised lesions showed a significant increase with an increase in taper angles in the different segments. The results suggest taper plays a role in the distribution of both fatty streaks and raised lesions, however, the nature of the cause and effect remains to be determined.