[Structure of arterial intima in children and adolescents. A pathological study of 101 cases]

This was a macroscopic and histological study of the arteries of 101 unselected subjects from 0 to 20 years of age without cardiovascular pathology, autopsied to determine the cause of death at the medico-legal Institute of Paris. Stary's classification was used as a reference. Multiple Biopsies were taken from throughout the arterial system: initial aorta, carotid artery and its bifurcation, descending supra and infra renal aorta, iliac artery and left anterior descending artery. In this population, we found arterial lesions in 63% of subjects in the 15 to 20 year age range and this confirms previously reported data, especially by Stary. The lesions were identical irrespective of the site of biopsy and predominated at the bifurcations. No difference was observed with regards to sex and the lesions progressed after puberty.