Seminars

Abstract:

The vagina is central to female pelvic support and adapts to dynamic intra-abdominal pressures throughout a woman’s lifespan. Structural instability in the vagina and surrounding pelvic organs may lead to significant health problems, such as pelvic organ prolapse. While the etiologies of these conditions remain unknown, altered elastic fiber content has been implicated. Elastic fibers are present in most soft biological tissues and are critical to tissue function. Loss of elastic fibers may alter tissue adaptation by both mechanical and biochemical pathways, including altered structural integrity and smooth muscle cell phenotype; however, the relationship between elastic fibers and vaginal mechanical properties are not fully elucidated. In this talk, I will present our efforts to delineate the mechanical role of elastic fibers and smooth muscle cells in the murine vagina. I will specifically characterize vaginal mechanical properties using biaxial extension-inflation tests and hyperelastic constitutive models.

Presenter Information