Correlation between the Layer of an Intimal Tear and the Progression of Aortic Dissection

Thoracic aortas isolated from dogs were evaluated to determine the correlation between the depth of an intimal tear and the progression of aortic dissection. Thoracic aortas obtained from 99 adult mongrel dogs were used. An intimal tear (aortic pocket) was created on the aortic wall and the aorta was connected in series to a closed circuit (150 mmHg/100 mmHg and 60 beats/min). The progression of the dissection was most notable in the aortic pocket prepared in the first one-third of the external media (87.5%). There was no correlation however between the width of the pocket and the progression of dissection. Examinations of samples from surgical patients have shown that dissection usually progresses at the same site. This has been attributed to the diseased media. Our results demonstrated that dissection occurred almost always at the same site without any medial changes suggesting that whether dissection develops or not likely depends upon whether the intimal tear reaches the first one-third of the external media or not.