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First published online October 31, 2008
Journal of Experimental Biology 211, 3588-3593 (2008)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2008
doi: 10.1242/jeb.024489

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Physiological importance of the coronary arterial blood supply to the rattlesnake heart

Mette K. Hagensen^1,3,*, Augusto S. Abe², Erling Falk³ and Tobias Wang¹

¹ Department of Zoophysiology, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Aarhus, Denmark
² Departamento de Zoologia, Centro de Aquicultura, UNESP, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil
³ Department of Cardiology, Research Unit, Aarhus University Hospital (Skejby), Denmark

View larger version (69K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 1. The coronary arterial tree in the South American rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus). (A,B) Ventral and dorsal views of the ventricle where the coronary arteries have been filled with Microfil. (C) Collateral vessels of the coronary arteries. The black arrows indicate multiple epicardial anastomoses that connect coronary arteries between adjacent perfusion beds. (D) The spongy myocardium (yellow) and the thin outer compact layer (note that Microfil was injected directly into the ventricle cavity). CA, cavum arteriosum; CM, compact myocardium; CP, cavum pulmonale; CV, cavum venosum; SM, spongy myocardium. (E) Ventral view of a heart from a rattlesnake with occluded arteries. Microfil was injected in the right systemic arch to confirm successful occlusion of the coronary arteries.

View larger version (14K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 2. Blood pressure (Psys) and heart rate (fH) in active and resting rattlesnakes, Crotalus durissus, at 1 day or 4 days after occlusion of the coronary arteries. Black bars represent snakes with occluded coronary arteries. White bars represent sham-operated snakes. Values are means ± s.e.m. Control snakes (N=4); snakes with coronary occlusion (N=6). *Significant difference from day 1; significant difference from rest; significant difference from sham-operated snakes.

View larger version (18K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 3. Examples of electrocardiograms (ECGs) from rattlesnakes (Crotalus durissus) after occlusion of the coronary circulation and from sham-operated snakes (see text for further explanation).

View larger version (23K): [in this window] [in a new window]   Fig. 4. The duration of the QRS interval (A), ST interval (B), PR interval (C) and QT interval related to heart rate (RR) of the ECG waveform for sham-operated rattlesnakes (Crotalus durissus; white bars) and snakes with occluded coronary circulation (black bars) after 1 day and 4 days. Values are means ± s.e.m. Control snakes (N=4); snakes with coronary occlusion (N=6). *Significant difference from rest; significant difference from sham-operated snakes.

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