Relation of Structure to Function of the Tissues of the Wall of Blood Vessels

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Abstract
How contraction of the smooth muscle in a blood vessel narrows, or obliterates, the lumen is the subject of this review. The blood pressure within, tending to stretch the wall, is in equilibrium with the tension in the wall resisting this, furnished by the elastic properties of its tissues and their power of contraction. First, precise definition of how elastic properties of materials are expressed is given, and Laplace''s law relating tension to pressure and radius is invoked. Then the properties of each of the 4 tissues are described and compared, the tissues being endothelial lining cells, elastic fibers, collagenous connective tissue fibers, and smooth muscle. Finally their functions are analyzed singly and in relation to one another.