MORPHOMETRIC ASSESSMENT OF CANINE HEART WITHOUT MACROSCOPICALLY VISIBLE CHANGES CAUSED BY CARDIAC DISEASE

Abstract The purpose of this study was to collect data on the cardiac morphometry of thirty adult male and female dogs without macroscopic changes indicative of heart disease, regardless of animal's body weight and score. The dogs were weighed, grouped according to their body weight, and necropsied for a macroscopic evaluation of their cardiac measurements. The data obtained were included in a database. The following cardiac measures were evaluated: vertical and horizontal axes, weight, volume, thickness of the right and left atria and ventricles, and horizontal and vertical axes of the atrial and ventricular chambers. The heart weight was found to represent 0.6 to 1.1% of the animal's body weight. No differences were found in cardiac size and weight as a function of sex. The ratio between the vertical and horizontal cardiac axes was 1.11. The left ventricle was found to be 1.6 to threefold thicker than the right ventricle. The results were considered standard for dogs and can be used for macroscopic evaluations of cardiac hypertrophy or dilation.摘要 本研究旨在收集30只无肉眼可见心脏疾病病变指征的成年雌雄犬的心脏形态计量数据，研究未限定受试犬的体重及体况评分。研究人员对受试犬进行称重并按体重分组，随后通过剖检开展心脏测量指标的肉眼评估，将所得数据纳入数据库。本次评估的心脏测量指标包括：心脏垂直轴与水平轴、心脏重量、容积、左右心房及心室壁厚，以及心房与心室腔的垂直轴和水平轴。研究结果显示：心脏重量占动物体重的0.6%至1.1%；心脏尺寸与重量未因性别产生显著差异；心脏垂直轴与水平轴的比值为1.11；左心室壁厚约为右心室的1.6至3倍。上述结果可作为犬类心脏的基准参考数据，用于心脏肥大或扩张的肉眼评估。