Tissue histology on the correlation between fracture energy and elasticity

Abstract

Purpose: Preemptively estimating tissue damage is crucial for a safe surgical procedure. We previously investigated the possibility of estimating the fracture energies of biological tissues based on their elasticities. However, the reason behind the presence of these correlations is poorly understood. In this study, we investigate the effect of a tissue's histology on the correlation between the fracture energy and elasticity. We hypothesize that two tissues with similar fibrous structure will show a similar correlation between the fracture energy and elasticity.

Methods: Porcine duodenum were used for this study. Two tensile tests were performed for each porcine duodenum specimen to determine its elasticity and tearing energy. The correlation between fracture energy and elasticity was then investigated using the results from the mechanical tests. Furthermore, duodenum specimens were fixed in 10% formalin while under tension. Microscopic images were then taken to visualize the fibrous structure within the duodenum tissues under tension.

Results: The results from the tensile test showed that the fracture energy had an isotropic positive and linear correlation with the elasticity to the negative 0.5th power (R² = 0.89), which was also previously reported in small intestinal (jejunum) specimens. Furthermore, the tearing patterns of the duodenum were identical to the ones reported in the jejunum. Hematoxylin and eosin staining on tissues fixed under tension showed that the endomysium fibers are involved in providing resistance toward traction.

Conclusion: Through mechanical tests, we showed that porcine duodenum tissues also have a correlation between its fracture energy and elasticity. We also discussed that the histological structure of a tissue is an important factor that dictates how the tearing energy of a tissue will correlate to the elasticity. We understood that since the tearing mechanism between the duodenum and jejunum was similar, the correlations between their fracture energies and elasticities were also similar.

Keywords: Biological tissue damage; Biomechanics; Elasticity; Fracture energy; Histology.