Comparative morphology of the hepatic and coronary artery walls. Part II. The relation between the internal elastic membrane, non-atherosclerotic intimal thickening and atherosclerosis.

Evident difference in the occurrence of atherosclerosis between hepatic and coronary arteries justifies the search for local preconditions of this disease. In this study we compared the internal elastic membrane morphology of both arteries. It appeared to be mono- or polylinear (laminar) and continuous in the hepatic artery. This was in contrast to its fragmentation in the coronary artery since the beginning of life. Thus, the condition of the internal elastic membrane may play an important role in the development of non-atherosclerotic intimal thickening. Continuous elastica could make the migration of medial myocytes into the intima more difficult (hepatic artery). On the other hand, fragmented coronary artery elastica seems to facilitate this migration. In turn, intimal thickening is less or more advanced, respectively.