A comparative study of the structure of the arteries of the limbs in the human subject

Abstract

Transverse sections of arteries taken at post mortem from the upper and lower limbs of human subjects of different ages have been examined. The examination was directed specially towards the detection of differences in structure between (I) Arteries of a similar size from different regions of the body, amid (II) speciments of the same artery taken from subjects of different ages.

The following conclusions have been reached.

1. The Arteries of the upper limb have on the whole a more elastic media than those of the lower limb.

2. The range of variation in structure is greater in the vessels of the upper than in those of the lower limb, i.e. although the Axillary Artery is structurally much more elastic than the Femoral Artery, the Radial Artery closely resembles the Anterior Tibial Artery in the relative proportions of muscular and elastic tissue in the medial coat.

3. Changes in the structure of the media with age have been followed in each vessel examined. In general it has been found that the most rapid development of elastic tissue occurs during the later months of foetal life. During the early years of post natal life the development of muscular and elastic tissue proceeds at approximately the same rate, while during early adult life development of muscular tissue outruns that of elastic tissue.

In later adult life regressive changes appear, obvious first in the proximal vessels of each limb and apparently accompanied in the early stages by an increase in the elastic element of the distal vessels.