J Vet Sci.  2007 Mar;8(1):7-14. 10.4142/jvs.2007.8.1.7.

Comparative analysis of heart functions in micropigs and conventional pigs using echocardiography and radiography

• Lee MY
• Lee SH
• Lee SG
• Park SH
• Lee CY
• Kim KH
• Hwang SH
• Lim SY
• Ahn YK
• Han HJ

• KMID: 1104230
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4142/jvs.2007.8.1.7

Abstract

The production of miniature animals has been suggested for use in organ transplantation. At present, many of the studies about application of animal organs to human have been focused on pigs because of the number of advantages involved and due to their similarities with human. However, a physiological analysis of the organs to be transplanted has not yet been carried out. Therefore, this study analyzed whether or not there were physiological and morphological differences in the hearts of conventionallyreared pigs and micropigs. In this study, the morphological and physiological functions of the heart were examined using radiographic and echocardiographic equipment. In the lateral radiographic view, the heart of the micropig has a larger cardiac long axis : short axis ratio than does the conventional pig, but the difference in the vertebral heart score was not significant. In addition, there were no morphological differences on the X-ray fluoroscopic view. There were no differences in echocardiographic values, except for several values in the left ventricle traces. Overall, it is expected that the values measured in this study will contribute to understanding of the physiological characteristics of micropigs.

Keyword

conventional pig; micropig; physiological cardiac function

MeSH Terms

Animals
Echocardiography/veterinary
Fluoroscopy/veterinary
Heart/*physiology/*radiography
Stroke Volume/physiology
Swine
Swine, Miniature

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Lateral radiographic view of a conventional pig and a micropig. The images show the vertebral heart score (VHS) measurement method using the lateral chest radiograph. A: representative picture of conventional pig, B: representative picture of micropig. L: long-axis heart dimension, S: short-axis heart dimension, T4: fourth thoracic vertebra.

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  Fig. 2 Delivery of iohexol with X-ray fluoroscopic guidance. A: Right circumflex artery (RCA; white arrow) of a conventional pig, B: Left anterior descending artery (LAD; white arrow with dotted line) and left circumflex artery (LCX; black arrow) of a conventional pig, C: Right circumflex artery (RCA; white arrow) of a micropig, D: Left anterior descending artery (LAD; white arrow with dotted line) and left circumflex artery (LCX; black arrow) of a micropig.

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  Fig. 3 Representative images of echocardiography. A: pulmonic valve trace, B: right ventricle trace, C: aortic valve trace, D, E: mitral valve trace, F, G: left ventricle trace.

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