Cor triatriatum occurs during embryological development when the common pulmonary vein fails to incorporate in the left atrium (LA) and gives rise to a fibromuscular membrane that divides the LA into 2 chambers: a superior accessory chamber where the pulmonary veins enter, and an inferior one, the “true” LA, with its auricular appendage, which connects with the left ventricle through the mitral...

Our approach to implanting cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices combines an understanding of the anatomy of the failing heart and the coronary veins, standard pacing lead insertion skills, and techniques common to diagnostic cardiac catheterization and interventional cardiology. The method we have devised over the past 5 years has provided CRT safely and effectively to a large volume...

Three infants with congestive cardiac failure demonstrated dilated and hyperdense intracranial veins and sinuses on noncontrast cranial CT. Intracranial venous thrombosis and arteriovenous malformation were excluded in two infants by autopsy and in one infant by MR imaging. We believe the CT findings were secondary to an elevated central venous pressure caused by the cardiac failure. This CT pa...

PURPOSE To quantitatively model the changes in blood velocity profiles for different cardiac phases in human retinal vessels. METHODS An adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope (AOSLO) was used to measure blood velocity profiles in three healthy subjects. Blood velocity was measured by tracking erythrocytes moving across a scanning line. From the radial position of the cells within the ...

Vascular injections of colored mixtures were probably not performed before the seventeenth century. They are intended to allow a more detailed description of arteries, veins and lymph vessels, but also to produce specimens to be exhibited in anatomical and natural sciences museums, usually after corrosion. This paper gives a summary of the development of vascular injection procedures and mixtur...

One of the great discoveries in cardiac electrophysiology was the recognition of the crucial role of pulmonary vein (PV) myocardial sleeves for the initiation of atrial fibrillation (AF). Based on this concept, catheter ablation aiming at electrical isolation of all pulmonary veins has become the routine approach for of paroxysmal AF. Another concept implies selective isolation only of arrhythm...

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia seen in clinical practice and is associated with a notable increase in morbidity and mortality. Although there have been considerable advances in the treatment of AF, the results of drug treatment and ablation remain suboptimal.1 This is largely due to the fact that there is still little understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the i...

The coronary sinus (CS) is an important vascular structure that allows for access into the coronary veins in multiple interventional cardiology procedures, including catheter ablation of arrhythmias, pacemaker implantation and retrograde cardioplegia. The success of these procedures is facilitated by the knowledge of the CS anatomy, in particular the recognition of its variants and anomalies. T...

Partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection (PAPVC) is an extremely rare congenital condition where one or more of the pulmonary veins are connected to the venous circulation. Although initially suspected with unexplained right ventricular enlargement on transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), cardiac MRI is able to delineate the anatomical variant. We present a case of a 65-year-old male diagn...

Atrial natriuretic peptide is a peptide regulating salt and water balance, originally isolated from the cardiac atrium, where it is synthesised as part of a precursor molecule in specialised myocardial cells. The myocardium extends into the extrapulmonary part of the pulmonary veins in many species, including man. In some small mammals, however, such as the rat, mouse, and bat, it extends furth...