Even when the muscles surrounding a joint are inactive, they still exert a damping effect on joint mobility, because of the passive elastic tension exerted by the stretched muscle fibres and their connective tissue (Clemmesen, 1951). For example, if the forearm muscles are allowed to relax and the forearm is then shaken violently, the hand will swing loosely at the wrist; however, if the experi...

The morphological study of the development of "intimal thickenings" of the human uterine artery in physiological condition was performed on 72 uterine arteries obtained from foetuses from the 12th week of gestation up to birth. Our results indicate that intimal thickening is formed by the migration and displacement of mesenchymal cells around the site of origin of collateral vessel from uterine...

Histological sections of relaxed porcine aortic valves were studied from a mechanical point of view. The observations are combined into a tractable scheme of the tissue structure of the aortic valve. The valve leaflets can be regarded as an elastic meshwork, reinforced with stiff collagen bundle-s, showing an arrangement in one particular direction. The sinus walls consist of smooth muscle tiss...

Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) is an inherited disorder characterised by progressive calcification of the elastic fibres in the skin, eye, and cardiovascular system. Recently, mutations in the ATP binding cassette transporter gene (ABCC6) were identified as cause of this disease. Although patients with PXE often have coronary artery disease, little is known about the process and the mechanism o...

Background: During the first trimester of pregnancy the uterine spiral arteries that supply blood to the placenta are remodelled, creating heavily dilated conduits lacking maternal vasomotor control. To effect permanent vasodilatation, the internal elastic lamina and medial elastic fibres must be degraded. Failure of remodelling is a key characteristic of the pathological placenta and is though...

Staining is an auxiliary technique used in microscopy to enhance contrast in the microscopic image. Stains and dyes are frequently used in biology and medicine to highlight structures in biological tissues for viewing, often with the aid of different microscopes [1]. Hematoxylin and eosin stain (H&E stain or HE stain), is the routine staining for skin biopsies. However, in some circumstances, d...