The Role and Significance of Vasodilatation in the Development of Small Arterial Lesions in the Rat

Repeated treatment with large doses of vasodilators elicited small arterial changes in rats. Similar lesions developed on alternate dosage of vasodilator and vasoconstrictor preparations. The mechanical strain imposed on the vessel wall by both types of vasoactive substances is believed to play a role in the pathomechanism of the vascular changes which seem essentially to arise from the impairment of the smooth muscle cells overburdened by forced movements of the vessel wall.