Patent ID: 8740967

Claim:
A stent comprising: a plurality of wavy annular bodies coaxially arranged in an axial direction so that adjacent wavy annular bodies are positioned axially adjacent one another; each wavy annular body including a plurality of circumferentially adjacent strut portions and a plurality of curved inflexed portions each connecting two of the strut portions which are circumferentially adjacent one another; the curved inflexed portions of each wavy annular body including crest-shaped curved inflexed portions and trough-shaped curved inflexed portions which are curved in opposite directions; a plurality of axially adjacent pairs of wavy annular bodies being connected to each other by connection parts, all of the connection parts connecting the plurality of axially adjacent pairs of wavy annular bodies being weaker than the wavy annular bodies allowing the connection parts to rupture in advance of the axially adjacent wavy annular bodies when a radially outwardly directed force is applied to the stent from inside the stent; each connection part having one end directly connected to a crest-shaped curved inflexed portion of one of the wavy annular bodies and an opposite end directly connected to a trough-shaped curved inflexed portion of the axially adjacent wavy annular body; each connection part extending in a slanting manner relative to the axial direction; and wherein the connection parts are first connection parts, and the stent further comprising, in addition to the plurality of wavy annular bodies, an endmost wavy annular body at each axial end of the stent, both of the endmost wavy annular bodies being connected to the axially adjacent wavy annular body by a second connection part possessing a greater width than the width of the first connection parts.