A Study on Vasa Vasorum in Coronary Arteries and Their Role in Progression of Atherosclerosis

Abstract

The acquirement of nutrition of the coronary arterial wall seems to be a very important subject in studying on the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. One of the most impressive morphological characteristic of coronary atherosclerosis is a localized eccentric intimal thickening, which may be caused by many factors. This characteristic may not be explained only from stand point of the serum lipid insudation theory. Local circulatory disturbances within the arterial wall may be one of the factors that cause such localized and eccentric lesions of atherosclerosis.
To study this subject, about 100 segments of coronary arteries and veins obtained from 15 autopsy cases without significant heart diseases, aged 36 to 78 years were used. The arteries and veins were injected with silicone rubber from the coronary sinus and orifices of the coronary arteries, and then were cleared with solution of alcohol-metyl salicylate. They were observed to analyse a morphology of the vasorum in the coronary arteries on multiple sections under a dissection microscope.
The obtained results were as follows:
1. Three types of arterial vasculature were distinguished, as almost same results as those that had been previously reported by many researchers.
2. It was apparently recognized that venous channels existed within the media of the coronary arteries and were drained out toward the adventitia.
3. Atherosclerotic plaques of coronary arteries showed localized proliferation of intramural vasculature in the intima and also in media.
These results were indicative that the disturbance of intramural circulation in the arterial wall might be one of factors in developing such characteristic of coronary atherosclerosis.