Fractal nature of human gastrointestinal system: Exploring a new era

Figure 1 Examples of geometrical self-similar objects. A: “Curve” from Niels Fabian Helge von Koch; B: “Snowflake” from Niels Fabian Helge von Koch; C: “Sierpinski triangle”; D: Mandelbrot set; E: Julia set named after the studies on the geometrical complexity by the French mathematicians Gaston Julia e Pierre Fatou.

Figure 2 Examples of natural statistical self-similar structures resembling mathematical fractals. A: Marine invertebrates corals; B: Tree branches; C: Water breaking waves; D: Sand dunes.

Figure 3 Some self-similar tissues in the gastrointestinal system and their corresponding idealized mathematical fractals. A: Intestine villi; B: Liver; C: Pancreatic Langerhans islet; D: Mandelbrot set; E: Diffusion-limited aggregation model; F: Julia fractal islet.