Takashi Matsuo and Riki Okeda
Medical Research Institute, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113, Japan
(Received February 14, 1989; Accepted July 10, 1989)
Keywords: Branching Angle, Vessel Diameter, Pial Artery, Optimality Principle
Abstract. Measurements were made. of parent and branch vessel diameters and of the branching angles at arterial bifurcations distributed over the surface of the cat brain, and the results were compared with theoretical predictions based on the optimality principle in order to understand the physiological principle governing arterial bifurcation. The branching angles measured showed statistically significant correlations with the ratio of cross-sectional area between the branch vessels, which were in qualitative agreement with the theoretical predictions. However, the arteries were found to show considerable winding, and the branching angles were defined only in the neighborhood of branch points, thus suggesting that the branching angle of an arterial bifurcation is governed by local mechanical factors.