Functional similarities in the mechanical design of the aorta in lower vertebrates and mammals

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Abstract
The mechanical properties of the aorta from the toadBufo marinus, the lizardGekko gecko and the garter snakeThamnophis radix were compared to those of the rat, by inflation of vessel segments in vitro. The arteries of the lower vertebrates, like those of mammals, were compliant, higly resilient, and non-linearly elastic. The elastic modulus of the artery wall was similar in the lower vertebrates and mammals, at their respective mean physiological pressures. We conclude that the aorta in each of these animals is suitably designed to function effectively as an elastic pulse smoothing component in the circulation; differences in the pressure wave transmission characteristics of lower vertebrates and mammals do not result from dissimilarities in arterial elastic properties, but from substantial differences in heart rate of these two groups.