This paper describes the partial results of an echocardiographic study in sixty outbreed Wistar rats. Animals of parity sex ratio were chosen for the experiment. The animals were grown up during the observation period (the minimum weight was 220 g; the maximum weight was 909 g) and were then sequentially anaesthetised (2-2.5% of isoflurane, 3 l/min O 2 ). The second, fourth and fifth examinations were performed under anaesthesia maintained by intramuscular injections with diazepam (2 mg/kg), xylazine (5 mg/kg) and ketamine (35 mg/kg). Transthoracal examination was done using the SonoSite Titan echo system (SonoSite Ltd.) with a microconvex transducer C11 (8-5 MHz). M-mode (according to the leading-edge method of American Society of Echocardiography) echocardiography data were acquired at the papillary muscle: systolic and diastolic interventricular septum (IVSs, d) and left vetricular posterior wall (LVPWs, d) thickness, systolic and diastolic left ventricular dimension (LVDs, d), aorta (Ao) and left atrium (LA) dimensions. According to standard formulas, the following parameters were obtained: ejection fraction (EF), cardiac output (CO), stroke volume (SV), left ventricle end systolic volume (LVESV), left ventricle end diastolic volume (LVEDV), interventricular septum fractional thickening (IVSFT), left ventricular dimension fraction shortening (LVDFS), and left ventricle posterior wall fraction thickening (LVPWFS). In our study we performed 300 examinations both in male and female Wistar rats of various body weights and calculated regression equations to predict expected normal echocardiographic parameters for rats with arbitrary weights. The rats were examined by an echo scan. The first and third examinations were performed during monoanaesthesia induced by inhalation of isoflurane. Correlations, with one exception (LVDs), were very close, which means that the results of the calculations based on regression equations are very reliable.

A British cat was presented with generalized fatty infiltration of the heart compromising both ventricles and atria, resembling arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. Due to the nature and progression of the disease, the final diagnosis was achieved at necropsy. According to our knowledge only a few cases of fatty infiltration of the heart have been reported in cats, this being the first in which the pathological findings were seen in both atria.Keywords: lipomatosis; fatty infiltration; heart; cat Lipomatosis of the heart is a rare clinical condition in cats, and has only been described sporadically in the literature (Fox et al., 2000;Harvey et al., 2006), being mostly an incidental finding at necropsy in obese and elderly cats (Fox et al., 2000). In contrast, in humans it is a very common finding, present at approximately 50% of necropsies (Pantanowitz, 2001;Lucena et al., 2007), and seems to reflect the physiological process of involution that occurs with aging (Pantanowitz, 2001, Tansey et al., 2005Poirier et al., 2006). The condition shows histopathological features that are similar between species; however, the primary causes remain undetermined. Lipomatosis of the heart has been primarily observed in arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) and as a secondary finding in various conditions such as inherited muscular dystrophies, reparation tissue after injury (Une et al., 1998;Lucena et al., 2007;Schmitt et al., 2007), lipomatous hypertrophy, lipomas and liposarcomas, chronic ischemia, myocarditis, or associated with obesity and alcohol abuse (Tansey et al., 2005). The purpose of this report is to present the pathological changes caused by the development of massive heart lipomatosis in an adult cat. Case descriptionA 15-month old castrated female British Shorthair cat weighing 4 kg was admitted to the Clinic of Dog and Cat Diseases at the University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic. In the two days prior to being admitted, the patient was dyspnoeic, for which it was receiving high doses of furosemide. During the preliminary clinical examination the cat presented with stupor, tachycardia, tachypnoea and hypothermia. Shortly after the cat collapsed and suffered a cardiorespiratory stroke, to which the owner declined resuscitation. At necropsy the cat's body condition seemed to be very good. The abdominal cavity contained approximately 50 ml of yellowish effusion. Hepatic and splenic congestion were also present. In the thoracic cavity approximately 100 ml of yellowish effusion was present. Pulmonary congestion and oedema were evident. There were neither pericardial defects nor vascular anomalies. The heart showed generalized whitish discoloration and the right ventricle was markedly dilated. Other organs were grossly normal. For the histopathological examination, sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and Van Gieson's stain for connective tissue. The kidneys showed chronic glomerulonephritis and proteinuria. The liver, spleen and thy...

ABSTRACT:This study was concerned with the development of induced septic shock in a laboratory rat using a series of measurements including body temperature, heart and respiratory rates, haematocrit value, red and white blood cell counts, differential leukocyte count, haemoglobin value, glycaemia, analysis of arterial blood gases, and serum levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6) during the first five hours. A total of 12 specific pathogen free (SPF) laboratory rats were used for the study. Septic shock was induced under general anaesthesia by introducing live E. coli (O18) into the jugular vein in the dose of 1 × 10 9 per 100 g of body weight (group SESH). Clinical measurements and blood collection from a. carotis were performed just prior to, and then 1.5 and 5 h after the administration of E. coli. The control group (C) contained 9 SPF laboratory rats which received physiological saline only, at the same volume into the jugular vein, and blood collection followed according to the same scheme as above described for group SESH. The results of the experiment showed that changes in clinical, haematological and biochemical parameters could be detected as early as 1.5 hours after induction. These changes correspond with the activation of an inflammatory reaction and the development of metabolic acidosis. They are accompanied by a considerable rise in IL-6 already 1.5 h after the application of live E. coli and after 5 h the levels exceeded 2 000 pg/ml in all experimental animals. Our results clearly document the importance of IL-6 for the early detection of developing septic shock and of some less specific but routinely determined parameters such as white blood cell count and base excess.