Three-dimensional analysis of human carotid atherosclerotic ulcer associated with recent thrombotic occlusion

To clarify the mechanism of ulcer formation of atherosclerotic plaques in human carotid arteries, autopsy investigations were performed on eight patients who had died of cerebral infarction due to recent carotid thrombosis. Eleven control patients who had carotid atherosclerosis without thrombosis were also investigated. Histological changes of the arteries in serial sections were reconstructed three-dimensionally. Each artery with occlusive thrombosis was found to have an intimal ulcer at the head of the thrombus on the proximal slope near the base of the thickened atheromatous plaque at the carotid sinus. Most ulcers formed obliquely or longitudinally, were parallel to the vessel axis, had a fusiform shape, and measured 7 +/- 2 x 3 +/- 1 mm (mean +/- s.d.). The ulcers arose by marginal separation of the innermost layer from the underlying layer of the stratified intima. An underlying atheroma developed along the borders of these intimal layers reaching the subendothelium, with thinning of the intimal cap to less than 150 microns. The process of ulceration may be generated by vessel injury induced by hemodynamic forces, such as tensile forces and shear stress. The ulcer may extend along the fragile region where the wall may exhibit uneven compliance due to differences in the tissue structures of each intimal layer. Furthermore, macrophages may play a key role in ulcer formation.