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The collagen diffraction patterns of human arteries under uniaxial tensile test conditions have been investigated by time resolved synchrotron small angle X-ray diffraction [1]. Different types of arteries were chosen according to their clinical interest and have been studied after dissection into their major layers (intima, media, adventitia). Using a recently designed tensile testing device [2], the orientation and d-spacing of the collagen fibers in the layers have been measured in situ under physiological conditions, together with the macroscopic force and sample deformation. This allows reconstruction of true stresses and strains and the fitting of this data to a non linear mechanical model [3]. The results show a relation between the orientation/extension of the collagen fibers on the nanoscopic level and the macroscopic stress and strain. This is attributed first to a straightening, second to a reorientation of the collagen fibers, and third to an uptake of the increasing loads by the collagen fibers.

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