Ultrastructure of the normal human aortic media.

The ultrastructural organization of the adult human aortic media was studied utilizing aortic biopsies from 14 patients, ranging in age from 28 to 67, who underwent cardiac surgery. Apart from solid elastic elements the tissue spaces contained a vast amount of ill-defined thin streaks of elastin, an observation much facilitated by utilizing a selective elastin staining technique. In favorable sections, these streaks were found to be continuous