Structure and Rheological Properties of Bovine Aortic Heart Valve and Pericardium Tissue: Implications in Bioprosthetic and Tissue-Engineered Heart Valves

Figure 1

Schematic representation of the extraction of the aortic heart valve from bovine heart and the uniaxial testing. (a) (i) indicates the location of the bovine heart, (ii) indicates the location of the aortic valve in the heart, (iii) indicates the three leaflets of the aortic valve with the representation of the dissection of the valvular tissue, and (iv) indicates position and layers of pericardium. (b) (i) indicates the parallel plate rheometer; the VT of 8 mm is placed between the plates of rheometer to study the viscoelastic properties, and (ii) indiactes the characteristics and phenomena in action during a rheometric experiment.

(a)

(b)