In-plane and out-of-plane deformations of gilt utero-sacral ligaments
In-plane and out-of-plane deformations of gilt utero-sacral ligaments
复制标题
镀金子宫骶韧带的面内和面外变形
DOI：
10.1016/j.jmbbm.2022.105249
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发表时间：
2022
影响因子：
3.9
通讯作者：
De Vita, Raffaella
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Donaldson, Kandace;Thomas, Joseph;Zhu, Yizheng;Clark-Deener, Sherrie;Alperin, Marianna;De Vita, Raffaella
子宫骶韧带（USL）是子宫和阴道顶端的支撑结构。盆底内这些韧带的机械功能不仅在正常生理条件下至关重要，而且在盆腔器官脱垂的重建手术中也至关重要。文献中对其解剖学和组织学描述存在差异，但这种差异可能是由于这些结构的巨大变化造成的。这使得机械测试非常具有挑战性，需要开发先进的方法来表征其机械性能。本研究建议使用平面双轴测试、数字图像相关 (DIC) 和光学相干断层扫描 (OCT) 来量化 USL 的面内和面外变形。使用后备母猪作为动物模型，发现在增加等双轴应力时，USL 在体内负载的主方向 (MD) 上的变形明显小于在垂直于主方向 (PD) 的方向上的变形。在恒定的等双轴载荷下，USL 随着时间的推移均匀变形，MD 和 PD 上的变形率相当。 USL 的厚度随着等双轴载荷的增加而减小，但在恒定的等双轴载荷下，某些样品的厚度会增加，而另一些样品的厚度会减少。这些发现可能有助于设计新的网状材料，增强 USL 的支撑功能，以及用于评估 USL 完整性的无创诊断工具。
The uterosacral ligaments (USLs) are supportive structures of the uterus and apical vagina. The mechanical function of these ligaments within the pelvic floor is crucial not only in normal physiological conditions but also in reconstructive surgeries for pelvic organ prolapse. Discrepancies in their anatomical and histological description exist in the literature, but such discrepancies are likely due to large variations of these structures. This makes mechanical testing very challenging, requiring the development of advanced methods for characterizing their mechanical properties. This study proposes the use of planar biaxial testing, digital image correlation (DIC), and optical coherence tomography (OCT) to quantify the deformations of the USLs, both in-plane and out-of-plane. Using the gilts as an animal model, the USLs were found to deform significantly less in their main direction (MD) ofin vivoloading than in the direction perpendicular to it (PD) at increasing equibiaxial stresses. Under constant equibiaxial loading, the USLs deform over time equally, at comparable rates in both the MD and PD. The thickness of the USLs decreases as the equibiaxial loading increases but, under constant equibiaxial loading, the thickness increases in some specimens and decreases in others. These findings could contribute to the design of new mesh materials that augment the support function of USLs as well as noninvasive diagnostic tools for evaluating the integrity of the USLs.