5
Figure 2. A Simplified Diagram Depicting the Key Histologic
Components of the Aortic Wall
e medial layer in human aortas contains >50 alternating layers of elastin and smooth muscle
cells (whereas only 5 are shown in this simplified illustration).
Adapted (cropped) from "Illustration of tunics of the arteries vs veins" by Malgosia Wilk-
Blaszczak, used under CC-BY 4.0 [license name linked to https://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/4.0/]. "Illustration of tunics of the arteries vs veins" is adapted (cropped) from figure
20.3 [linked to https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiolog y/pages/20-1-structure-
and-function-of-blood-vessels] in BC OpenStax Anatomy and Physiolog y [linked to https://
openstax.org/details/books/anatomy-and-physiolog y], used under CC-BY 4.0 [license name
linked to https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/].
