BACKGROUND In veterinary medicine congenital abnormalities of the diaphragm and pericardium are rare, idiopathic malformations, being reported mainly in dogs. This report documents an unusual case of developmental defects in a foal consisting of diaphragmatic hernia concurrent with pericardial aplasia. CASE PRESENTATION Following a normal delivery, a full term, female Friesian stillborn foal ...

Heparin-binding epidermal growth factor (HB-EGF) and betacellulin (BTC) are activating ligands for EGF receptor (EGFR/ErbB1) and ErbB4. To identify their physiological functions, we disrupted mouse HB-EGF and BTC alleles by homologous recombination. Most HB-EGF(-/-) mice died before weaning, and survivors had enlarged, dysfunctional hearts and reduced lifespans. Although BTC(-/-) mice were viab...

BACKGROUND Improved medical techniques have allowed most women with repaired tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) to reach childbearing age. The predictors of adverse events and the effects of pregnancy on cardiac function have not been clearly described in these patients. METHODS AND RESULTS In the present study we retrospectively reviewed 40 deliveries in 25 patients with repaired TOF. There were 23 p...

A 39-year-old man with no significant past medical history and no conventional coronary risk factors presented with a history of gradually progressive exertional dyspnea and a systolic heart murmur. Chest x-ray showed an enlarged cardiac silhouette with pulmonary plethora. Initial assessment by transthoracic echocardiography demonstrated mild mitral regurgitation but also revealed an enlarged c...

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) play many roles in mammalian cardiac development. Here we address the functions of Noggin, a dedicated BMP antagonist, in the developing mouse heart. In early cardiac tissues, the Noggin gene is mainly expressed in the myocardial cells of the outflow tract, atrioventricular canal, and future right ventricle. The major heart phenotypes of Noggin mutant embryos ...

rather hyperajmic ; brain firm, slightly hyperaemic. Heart.?About ji of clear fluid in the pericardium ; external fat normal; intima of vessels not stained ; valves normal; ri<?ht ventricle normal. Under the endocardium of the whole of the septum in the left ventricle dense dark extravasation, and more scattered similar extravasation on the rest of the wall and the muscular papillae. Thickness ...

A 39-year-old man with no significant past medical history and no conventional coronary risk factors presented with a history of gradually progressive exertional dyspnea and a systolic heart murmur. Chest x-ray showed an enlarged cardiac silhouette with pulmonary plethora. Initial assessment by transthoracic echocardiography demonstrated mild mitral regurgitation but also revealed an enlarged c...