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Structure, Function, and Development of Blood Vessels: Lessons for Tissue Engineering

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Engineering in Translational Medicine

Abstract

The establishment of blood vessel networks is a matter of life and death for tissues and organisms. Failure to form a functional vascular network causes early death of embryos, and also dysfunction of endothelial cells (ECs) contributes to many diseases, including stroke, thrombosis, and atherosclerosis. Furthermore, there is a considerable clinical need for alternatives to the autologous vein and artery tissues used for vascular reconstructive surgeries such as lower limb bypass, arteriovenous shunts, and repairs of congenital defects to the pulmonary outflow tract. So far, synthetic materials, particularly in small-diameter applications, have not matched the efficacy of native tissues.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA

    Hamisha Ardalani

  2. Department of Mathematics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA

    Amir H. Assadi

  3. Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Orthopedic and Rehabilitation, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA

    William L. Murphy

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  1. Hamisha Ardalani
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  2. Amir H. Assadi
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  3. William L. Murphy
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Correspondence to William L. Murphy .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Radiology/Medical Physics/Biomed, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA

    Weibo Cai

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Ardalani, H., Assadi, A.H., Murphy, W.L. (2014). Structure, Function, and Development of Blood Vessels: Lessons for Tissue Engineering. In: Cai, W. (eds) Engineering in Translational Medicine. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-4372-7_6

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