ARIOUS methods have been devised by others for estimating the weight of the normal heart in man by relating heart wveight to body size and age.'1-3 In other studies the weight of the left ventricle has been compared to total heart weight in postmortem hearts.' Smith's method for estimating the normal left ventricular mass has been utilized by Bing for determining left ventricular efficiency.4 Friedman, in radiographic studies of heart volume, demonstrated a relationship between the total heart volume, myocardial volume, and tIme volume of the heart chambers.5 Furtlhermore. he demonstrated that the relation betw7eenit these volumes differed in patients with different types of heart disease, but he did nlot attempt to relate the volume or mutlscle imlass of individual cardiac chambers to the total heart volume. Amundsen, in extensive stud-ies of total heart volume, has discussed the clifficulty in detecting dilatation and hypertrophy of individual cardiac chambers from conventional x-ray films of the heart.; Th-e present study is concerned with the development and clinical application of a method for dete-rti.nring left ventricular mass iin mail. MethodsTwenty-three postmortem human hearts wvere prepared by suturing together the leaflets of the mitral valve, inserting a large-bore needle into the ventricular cavity through the aortic valves, and clamping the aorta just above the aortic valvxes. The hearts were suspended over a Schonanderbiplane anlgiocardiogr-aphic unit so that the heart position and distances with respect to films and x-ray tubes simulated those present during angiocardiography in vivo when films are taken in the anteroposterior (a-p) and left lateral projections. Barium sulfate paste was injected into the left ventricular chamber to an initial known volume of 80 m]., followed by added known increments of 20 to 2.5 ml., until contrast material leaked at the mitracl xvalve, or the left ventricle ruptured. Biplane films were taken at each known volume over anl 80to 300-ml. volume ranige, as indicated in figuire 1.On each film the image of the left ventricuilar chamber was traced, the enclosed area (A) was determined by planimetry, and the long axis (1) of the ventricular chamber was directlv measured.It was assu-med that the left ventricuiar chamber could be represented by anl ellipsoid reference figure. The transverse diameters (d) were caleulated from the a-p and lateral films bv use of the 4A formula for th:e area of aii ellipse: d . Each of the axes AA7cas corrected for distortion due to inonparallel x-ravs from knowledge of x-ray tubeto-film distances and left ventricle-to-film distanices. This method for correctinig for x-ray dis-tortioII has been described previously.7 Left veentricular chamber volumes were cale-i lated by uise of the formula for the xvolume of an ellipsoid as described earlier:7 4 d~1 di Î 3 7r9-2 2 X2-wlhere d11 = transverse diameter calcullated from the a-p film; d1 = trainsver-se diameter calculated from the lateral film; 1 = maximum measured chamber length whether on the...

The production rates (PR) and the metabolic clearance rates (MCR) of human follicle-stimulating hormone (HFSH) were determined in six pre- and five postmenopausal women. Human FSH (PER-780) labeled with (131)I to specific activities of 50-150 muc/mug was used as a tracer. Both double antibody and trichloroacetic acid (TCA) precipitation techniques were used to determine HFSH-(131)I levels in infusate and plasma. In four of the subjects MCRs measured by both constant infusion and single injection techniques were the same. By constant infusion, plasma HFSH-(131)I levels reached equilibrium between 4-5 hr.MCRs in six premenopausal women were 14.2+/-1.1 (mean +/-SE) ml/min. MCRs in five postmenopausal women were 12.6 +/-1.1 ml/min. Simultaneous HFSH and human luteinizing hormone (HLH) MCRs were determined in a single patient using HFSH-(125)I and HLH-(131)I as tracers by both constant infusion and single injection methods. These studies showed that the MCR of HFSH was 10.8-11.1 ml/min, and the MCR of HLH was 18.5-19.4 ml/min. From these data and previous MCR and PR studies of HLH from this laboratory, it appears that the MCR of HFSH is about one-half that of HLH. Endogenous HFSH and HLH levels were measured by radioimmunoassay. The PRs of HFSH, calculated by the product of endogenous level and MCR, were 146 +/-27mU/min in the premenopausal women and 2141 +/-264 mM/min in the postmenopausal women. 24-hr PRs, based on these results, compared with reports of 24-hr urinary excretions of biologically active HFSH indicate that 3-5% of production is found in urine in biologically active form. After our single injections of HFSH-(131)I, 8-29% was recovered in urine over 24 hr.

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