FIGURE 3.

Schematic representation of physiological (healthy) and pathological (diseased) conditions of a blood vessel. The figure illustrates also the velocity profile of blood flow across both conditions that lead to shear stress, and the circumferential blood pressure experienced as tensile strain on the blood vessel. In the healthy blood vessel, the endothelium lining is intact. In contrast, in a diseased blood vessel, there is an endothelial injury represented by darkened endothelial cells, where components leak through and build up to plaque formation. The plaque is a multicellular deposit that upon rupture leads to thrombosis and tissue infarctions. Source: Created with BioRender.com.