Transmembrane action potentials were recorded from embryonic rat hearts at ages between 10& days of gestation and birth (21 to 22 days). The resting potential averaged 30 to 40 mv at IOJ2 days and increased to around 80 mv by birth. Two periods of rapid increase in resting potential were noted: 1) from 10^ to 13& days and 2) from 19M days of gestation to birth. The maximal upstroke velocity of ...

Left hepatic vein (LHV) that drains blood into a coronary sinus (CS) is an extremely rare congenital anomaly of systemic vein drainage with only single reports published. In most of these cases the unusual venous connection was found incidentally during diagnostics or surgery. The case of a two-year-old boy in whom the anomaly was discovered during open heart surgery for partial anomalous pulmo...

This study examined the transduction pathways activated by epinephrine in the pacemaker region of the toad heart. Recordings of membrane potential, force, and intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) were made from arrested toad sinus venosus. Sympathetic nerve stimulation activated non-alpha-, non-beta-adrenoceptors to evoke a membrane depolarization and a transient increase in [Ca(2+)...

The developmental appearance and spatial distribution pattern of gap junctions were studied in prenatal and adult rat hearts. Gap junctions were visualized immunohistochemically with an antibody raised against a unique cytoplasmic epitope of connexin43, and the spatial distribution pattern was determined by three-dimensional reconstruction. The results demonstrate that from embryonic day 13 onw...

The study was designed to investigate the gross morphometric of heart of farmed African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) in Maiduguri, Nigeria. The total of twenty fish comprises of both male and female were used for this study, the average weight of fish were 980 g, average length of fish were 42 cm, average weight of heart were 1.3 gm and average length of heart were 2.6 cm. Grossly the heart wer...

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Minimally invasive approaches in less-complex cardiac procedures can avoid unpleasant cosmetic results. Moreover, surgery can be scheduled in younger patients. In previous papers, we compared submammary and midline sternotomy. We present our initial experience with an axillary, compared to submammary, approach to repair atrial septal defects under extracorporeal circ...

AIMS The sinus venous myocardium, comprising the sinoatrial node (SAN) and sinus horns (SH), is a region subject to congenital malformations and cardiac arrhythmias. It differentiates from symmetric bilateral mesenchymal precursors, but morphological, molecular, and functional left/right differences are progressively established through development. The role of the laterality gene Pitx2 in this...