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Updated: Apr 21, 2026
Transthoracic Echocardiographic Examination in the Rabbit Model
Published on: June 1, 2019
Evaluation of the impact of passive smoke on arterial elasticity via echo-tracking technology in a rabbit model
Yong Qiang1, Guo Ruijun2, Chen Zhen2
1Department of Ultrasound Diagnosis, Capital Medical University Affiliated Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Beijing, China (Y.Q., L.Z., Z.S., Y.Z.); Department of Ultrasound Diagnosis, Capital Medical University Affiliated Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Beijing, China (G.R.); Department of Ultrasound Diagnosis, Beijing Haidian Hospital, Beijing, China (C.Z.); Beijing Institute of Cardiopulmonary Vascular Disease, Biomedical Engineering Research Center, Beijing, China (L.C.); Cardiovascular Disease Control and Prevention Office, Beijing, China (Y.X.); Research Department of Arteriosclerosis, Beijing Institute of Heart Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Affiliated With Capital University of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China (L.S., L.J.); Department of Ultrasound Diagnosis, First Affiliated Hospital of Peking University, Beijing, China (M.Y.); Capital Medical University, Beijing, China (Z.R., C.Y.); Function Department, Huilongguan Community Health Service Center, Beijing, China (M.Q.). cfp99@163.com.
Objectives:
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the elasticity of the abdominal aorta in passively smoking rabbits using echo-tracking technology and pathologic examination.
Methods:
Fifty-four male New Zealand White rabbits were randomly divided into a passive smoking group and a normal control group. The elasticity indicators for the abdominal aorta of the rabbits were measured by means of echo tracking, which was performed before and 1, 2, and 3 months after passive smoking. Measured indicators included the pressure-strain elastic modulus, stiffness, arterial compliance, augmentation index, and pulse wave velocity. After the completion of the in vivo measurements, rabbits were euthanized randomly, and the corresponding arterial sites were resected for pathologic examination and in vitro measurement of vascular elasticity.
Results:
The echo-tracking technology used in our research proved that the elastic modulus, stiffness, and pulse wave velocity gradually increased with time by passive smoking, whereas arterial compliance decreased by passive smoking. Pathologic examination and in vitro measurements were performed and further confirmed the observed in vivo results.
Conclusions:
Passive smoking can injure arteries and reduce arterial elasticity. Echo-tracking technology is an accurate, noninvasive, and reliable method for analysis of the impact of passive smoking on arterial elasticity and detection arterial injury, which also can provide a new instructional basis for prevention and treatment of several arterial diseases.
