Typical Atherosclerotic Plaque Morphology
Atherosclerosis always develops in plaques, and the reasons are not clear. We test the hypothesis that plaque morphology results from a self-perpetuating propagating process driven by macrophages (Mphs). A computer model of atherogenesis was written in which the computer screen represents a surface view of a flattened area of an arterial wall on which greatly accelerated atherogenesis is depicted. Rate of Mph recruitment from blood monocytes is set as a steeply rising function of the number of...