Figure 3.

Three-dimensional rendering of two local 100-μm (x,y) regions in an aorta. Structure (left) is rendered with linear transparency. Stiffness is overlaid (right) with only the particularly hard and soft regions given opacity. The upper rendering is taken from the region outlined by the box in Fig. 2g. The rendering clearly delineates interleaved hard and soft regions, which are presumed to represent the elastic lamellae (hard) and smooth muscle (soft). α indicates the transparency value for each color and greyscale value. Depth is scaled by refractive index of 1.4. The scale bars represent 10 μm. To see this figure in color, go online.