Tissue softening of guinea pig oesophagus tested by the tri-axial test machine

Tissue softening is commonly reported during mechanical testing of biological tissues in vitro. The loss of stiffness may be due to viscoelasticity-induced softening (the time-history of load-caused softening) and strain-induced stress softening (the maximum previous load-caused softening). However, the knowledge about tissue softening behaviour is presently poor. The aims of this study were to distinguish whether the loss of the stiffness during preconditioning was due to strain softening or viscoelasticity and to test the tissue softening in circumferential and longitudinal direction in the guinea pig oesophagus. Eight repeated pressure controlled ramp distensions and eight uniaxial tensile-release ramp stretches in three series were done on eight guinea pig oesophagi. The stress–strain curves were used to display the time-dependency (viscoelasticity) and the maximum previous load-caused softening (strain softening) in circumferential and longitudinal directions. For both the longitudinal and the circumferential softening, the peak stress and stiffness produced during the first loading were bigger than those produced in the remaining loadings. The stress loss due to strain softening was about three times more than that due to viscoelasticity in the longitudinal direction. The strain increased more than two times between the strain softening and viscoelastic softening in the circumferential direction. With a stress level of 20 kPa, the stiffness in the circumferential direction lost more than that in the longitudinal direction (P<0.05), indicating the anisotropic softening properties in the oesophagus. In conclusion, the stiffness loss during preconditioning is mainly attributed to strain softening, appears irreversible and is anisotropic.