In the pathology of vascular or gastrointestinal walls, the wall tension represents the muscular tension on the wall of the vessel. As a result of the Law of Laplace, if an aneurysm forms in a blood vessel wall, the radius of the vessel has increased. This means that the inward force on the vessel decreases, and therefore the aneurysm will continue to expand until it ruptures. A similar logic applies to the formation of diverticuli in the gut.