Growth and Remodeling in Blood Vessels Studied In Vivo With Fractal Analysis

Every cell in the human body must reside in close proximity to a blood vessel (within approximately 200 mm) because blood vessels provide the oxygen, metabolite, and fluid exchanges required for cellular existence. The growth and remodeling of blood vessels are required to support the normal physiology of embryonic development, reproductive biology, wound healing and adaptive remodeling to exercise, as well as abnormal tissue change in diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and coronary heart disease. Cardiovascular and hemodynamic (blood flow dynamics) alterations experienced by astronauts during long-term spaceflight, including orthostatic intolerance, fluid shifts in the body, and reduced numbers of red (erythrocyte) and white (immune) blood cells, are identified as risk factors of very high priority in the NASA task force report on risk reduction for human spaceflight, the "Critical Path Roadmap."