Multidetector CT Angiography of the Abdomen

Collateral supply to uterine leiomyomata from an unnamed vessel: a case report

Uterine leiomyomata are most often supplied solely by the uterine arteries. However, myomata have been reported to recruit collateral supply, usually from the ovarian arteries, which may contribute to clinical failure of uterine artery embolization. This case report describes a patient in whom a uterine myoma developed collateral supply de novo. The aberrant vessel was identified using computed tomographic angiography (CTA) and was selectively occluded in a successful embolization procedure.

Advances in vascular imaging

Advances in vascular surgery have mirrored advances in diagnostic imaging. Indeed, the endovascular revolution has been made possible largely by advances in computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and vascular ultrasound. As technology allows better noninvasive vascular diagnosis, conventional angiography, once the gold standard for the diagnosis of vascular disease, is now reserved largely for intervention. This article discusses the current state of vascular imaging. Specific emphasis is placed on the comparative clinical utility of different imaging modalities in the detection and management of vascular disease.

Biomechanics of the cardiovascular system: the aorta as an illustratory example

Biomechanics relates the function of a physiological system to its structure. The objective of biomechanics is to deduce the function of a system from its geometry, material properties and boundary conditions based on the balance laws of mechanics (e.g. conservation of mass, momentum and energy). In the present review, we shall outline the general approach of biomechanics. As this is an enormously broad field, we shall consider a detailed biomechanical analysis of the aorta as an illustration. Specifically, we will consider the geometry and material properties of the aorta in conjunction with appropriate boundary conditions to formulate and solve several well-posed boundary value problems. Among other issues, we shall consider the effect of longitudinal pre-stretch and surrounding tissue on the mechanical status of the vessel wall. The solutions of the boundary value problems predict the presence of mechanical homeostasis in the vessel wall. The implications of mechanical homeostasis on growth, remodelling and postnatal development of the aorta are considered.