Distribution of atherosclerosis in human descending thoracic aorta. A morphometric study

A morphometric study of 49 randomly selected human aortas is reported with regard to the distribution of atherosclerotic lesions in the descending thoracic aorta (DTA). The intercostal artery area (ICA-area) revealed a higher degree of atherosclerosis compared with the remaining part of the DTA. The difference was more striking at overall lower grades of atherosclerosis of the DTA. The ventral aspect of the DTA in the proximal and caudal thirds showed a higher degree of atherosclerosis compared with the middle third. The atherosclerotic indices of the proximal and distal areas correlated significantly with increasing heart weights but not for the middle third. The explanation of this is, presumably, irregular flow conditions. For the distal part a possible effect of continuous pounding of an enlarged heart upon the ventral aspect of the descending thoracic aorta is discussed.