The coronary vasculature and its reconstruction

Recently, we have developed several new innovations in the morphometry of vascular trees. These innovations have been used to study the anatomy of the coronary circulation in the pig and have yielded a complete set of morphometric data on the entire coronary vasculature. Since, the innovations are applicable to any organ that has a tree-like vasculature, their utility in describing the quantitative anatomy of intraorgan vasculature is evident. These advancements in morphometry along with the automation of vascular tree reconstruction, data analysis, and hemodynamic applications should make the data base on intraorgan vasculature more abundant and more useful. The morphometric data will contribute to the Circulatory Network Physiome that will serve as an anatomical basis for the Physiome Project. This article covers several topics: (1) intraorgan vascular trees in terms of their anatomy, mechanical properties, physiological behavior, and adaptation, (2) reconstruction of the coronary vasculature, and (3) some of the shortcomings of the present morphometric data base and some proposed remedies. Finally, a discussion of the constitution of the circulatory network physiome in terms of the available morphometric data on intraorgan vasculature will be presented. (C) 2000 Biomedical Engineering Society. [S0090-6964(00)00408-2].