Biomechanics of vascular areas of the human cranial dura mater

Pearcy, Q.; Jeejo, M.; Scholze, M.; Tomlinson, J.; Dressler, J.; Zhang, M.; Zwirner

doi:10.1016/j.jmbbm.2021.104866

Biomechanics of vascular areas of the human cranial dura mater (bibtex)

by Q. Pearcy, M. Jeejo, M. Scholze, J. Tomlinson, J. Dressler, M. Zhang, Zwirner

Abstract:

Accurate biomechanical properties of the human cranial dura mater are paramount for computational head models, artificial graft developments and biomechanical basic research. Yet, it is unclear whether areas of the dura containing meningeal vessels biomechanically differ from avascular areas. Here, 244 dura mater samples with or without vessels from 32 cadavers were tested in a quasi-static uniaxial tensile testing setup. The thick-nesses of the meningeal and periosteal dura in vascular and avascular areas were histologically investigated in 36 samples using van Gieson staining. The elastic modulus of 112 MPa from dura samples containing vessels running transversely was significantly lower than samples with vessels running longitudinally (151 MPa; p <0.001). The ultimate tensile strength of dura samples with transversely running vessels (11.1 MPa) was signif-icantly lower in comparison to both avascular samples (14.9 MPa; p <0.001) and samples with a longitudinally running vessel (15.0 MPa; p <0.001). The maximum force of dura samples with longitudinally running vessels was 37 N (p <0.001), this was significantly higher compared to the other groups which were 23 N (p <0.001). The meningeal and periosteal dura layer thicknesses were not statistically different in avascular areas (p >0.222). However, around the vessels, the meningeal dura layer was significantly thicker compared to the peri-osteal layer (p ≤0.019). The sum of the meningeal and periosteal layers was similar between vascular and avascular areas (p ≥0.071). Vascular areas of the human cranial dura mater withstand the same forces as avascular areas when being stretched. When stretched along the vessel, the dura-vessel composite can withstand even higher tensile forces compared to avascular areas. Vascular areas of the cranial dura mater seem to be similar when compared to avascular areas making their separate simulation in computational models non- essential.

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Reference:

Pearcy, Q., Jeejo, M., Scholze, M., Tomlinson, J., Dressler, J., Zhang, M., Zwirner: Biomechanics of vascular areas of the human cranial dura mater, Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials 12, 104866, 2022.

Bibtex Entry:

@Article{Pearcy2022,
  author    = {Pearcy, Q. and Jeejo, M. and Scholze, M. and Tomlinson, J. and Dressler, J. and Zhang, M. and Zwirner},
  journal   = {Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials},
  title     = {Biomechanics of vascular areas of the human cranial dura mater},
  year      = {2022},
  issn      = {1751-6161},
  month     = jan,
  number    = {2022},
  pages     = {104866},
  volume    = {12},
  abstract  = {Accurate biomechanical properties of the human cranial dura mater are paramount for computational head models, artificial graft developments and biomechanical basic research. Yet, it is unclear whether areas of the dura containing meningeal vessels biomechanically differ from avascular areas. Here, 244 dura mater samples with or without vessels from 32 cadavers were tested in a quasi-static uniaxial tensile testing setup. The thick-nesses of the meningeal and periosteal dura in vascular and avascular areas were histologically investigated in 36 samples using van  Gieson staining. The  elastic modulus of  112  MPa from dura samples containing vessels running transversely was significantly lower than samples with vessels running longitudinally (151 MPa; p <0.001). The ultimate tensile strength of dura samples with transversely running vessels (11.1 MPa) was signif-icantly lower in comparison to both avascular samples (14.9 MPa; p <0.001) and samples with a longitudinally running vessel (15.0 MPa; p <0.001). The maximum force of dura samples with longitudinally running vessels was 37 N (p <0.001), this was significantly higher compared to the other groups which were 23 N (p <0.001). The meningeal and periosteal dura layer thicknesses were not statistically different in avascular areas (p >0.222). However, around the vessels, the meningeal dura layer was significantly thicker compared to the peri-osteal layer (p ≤0.019). The sum of the meningeal and periosteal layers was similar between vascular and avascular areas (p ≥0.071). Vascular areas of the human cranial dura mater withstand the same forces as avascular areas when being stretched. When stretched along the vessel, the dura-vessel composite can withstand even higher tensile forces compared to avascular areas. Vascular areas of the cranial dura mater seem to be similar when compared to  avascular areas making their separate simulation in  computational models non- essential.},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.jmbbm.2021.104866},
  keywords  = {Biomechanical properties, Dura mater, Middle meningeal artery, Vascularization, Regional variation, Vessel biomechanics},
  publisher = {Elsevier {BV}},
  url       = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1751616121005038/pdfft?md5=0cfec2199be528d7df8f5bbac3da0904&pid=1-s2.0-S1751616121005038-main.pdf},
}