Aorta Wall

This slide shows the wall of the aorta, a large elastic artery. The three layers of the aortic wall are visible here. The tunica intima is thin and composed of endothelial cells and their underlying supporting tissue. The tunica media is the largest portion of the wall and is composed of elastic fibers, smooth muscle and collagenous tissue. Note the presence of large numbers of elastic fibers. Finally, the tunica adventitia is the outermost component of the arterial wall. It contains mostly connective tissue and a few small blood vessels called vasa vasorum that support the cells that make up the arterial wall. Which component of the wall is mutated in Marfan's Syndrome? How does the mutation affect the wall of the artery?