Branching patterns of intramural coronary vessels determined by microangiography using synchrotron radiation
Tanaka, A.; Mori, H.; Tanaka, E.; Mohammed, M.U.; Tanaka, Y.; Sekka, T.; Ito, K.; Shinozaki, Y.; Hyodo, K.; Ando, M.; Umetani, K.; Tanioka, K.; Kubota, M.; Abe, S.; Handa, S.; Nakazawa, H.
American Journal of Physiology 276(6): H2262-H2267
1999
ISSN/ISBN: 0002-9513 PMID: 10362710 Document Number: 498077
The intramural coronary artery (IMCA) with a diameter of 50-500 mm is critical for blood supply to the inner layers of heart muscle. We introduced digital measurement to microangiography using monochromatic synchrotron radiation and quantified branching patterns of the IMCA, the epicardial coronary artery (EPCA), and the distal ileal artery (DIA). The pre- and postbranching diameters were measured (95-1,275 mm) in seven dogs. A typical arterial segment divided into two nearly equivalent branches, and a regression line of daughter-to-mother diameter plots was almost identical among the EPCA (y = 0.838x - 16.7 in mm), IMCA (y = 0.737x - 2.18), and DIA (y = 0.755x + 8.63). However, a considerable difference was present at a segment where a proximal IMCA branched off from an EPCA (y = 0.182x + 90.2). Moreover, a proximal IMCA diameter had no relationship to the branching order from an EPCA. The precision of this method was confirmed by the good correlation of diameter measurements between two independent observers (r = 0.999, y = 1.02x - 1.07). In conclusion, using digital microangiography we demonstrated that the self-similar branching pattern of coronary arteries was discrete at the connection between the IMCA and EPCA. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.