A Large Whale Heart

Race, George J.; Edwards, Wendell L.; Haldén, E.; Wilson, Hugh E.; Luibel, F. J.

doi:10.1161/01.cir.19.6.928

Cited by 25 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…The globular, laterally broad conformation of the bowhead fetal heart with compression between atrial and auricular planes, tapering to a blunt apex, agrees generally with accounts of cardiac morphology in other great whales, including the sei whale Balaenoptera borealis (Schulte, 1916;Truex et al, 1961), fin whale Balaenoptera physalus (Walmsley, 1938), minke whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata (Ochrymowych and Lambertsen, 1984), gray whale Eschrishtius robustus (Truex et al, 1961), and sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus (White andKerr, 1915-1917;Race et al, 1959;Truex et al, 1961). Although some investigators believe the broad and blunt heart form represents a passive conformational response to available space in wide chested mammals (seen also in such groups as sirenians and elephants), particularly where the thoracic cavity is foreshortened as in cetaceans (Mü ller, 1898;Schulte, 1916;Slijper, 1962), others endorse physiologic explanations arising from diving requirements in marine mammals and the degree of athletic performance in mammals generally (Zimmerman, 1930;Lechner, 1942;Davis, 1964;Rowlatt, 1968;Drabek, 1977).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

“…These junctures have been noted both in mysticetes (gray, sei, and minke whales) and the sperm whale (Race et al, 1959;Truex et al, 1961;Ochrymowych and Lambertsen, 1984), although no mention of anastomoses between right and left coronary arteries was made by Walmsley (1938) in his fetal fin whale study. Ochrymowych and Lambertsen (1984), after examining the minke whale heart, specifically Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, their schematic drawings depicting the arterial pattern in the gray and sei whales give no indication of the complexity they record for the sperm whale. The drawings of sperm whale coronary arteries in an article by Race et al (1959) likewise do not illustrate multiple-trunk interventricular arteries. Ochrymowych and Lambertsen (1984) did not report (in either their text or illustrations) complex branching of the coronary arterial system in the minke whale.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The bowhead whale shares with other cetaceans a bilateral form of coronary arterial supply (Walmsley, 1938;Race et al, 1959;Truex et al, 1961;Rowlatt and Gaskin, 1975;Cave, 1977;Ochrymowych and Lambertsen, 1984). That is, the left coronary artery supplies the paraconal interventricular groove, and the right coronary artery services the subsinuosal interventricular groove.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Observations on the external morphology and vasculature of a fetal heart of the bowhead whale, Balaena mysticetus

et al. 1997

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Background: Specialized demands within the aquatic environment for over some 60 million years have shaped unique morphological expressions in the whales, dolphins, and porpoises (Cetacea). Detailed consideration of these features, particularly in the great whales, has often been constrained by difficulties in securing adequate specimens for study. We had the opportunity to examine external heart morphology in a rarely obtained and prepared specimen from the bowhead whale, Balaena mysticetus.Methods: The external morphology and in situ relations of a formalinperfused heart were examined grossly in a near-term bowhead fetus. Latex injections assisted visualization of coronary vasculature. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to clarify heart positioning within the thoracic cavity in two younger (early and mid-gestational) intact fetuses.Results: The heart was globular in form, with a blunt apex and wide base; it was laterally broad relative to height yet considerably compressed between nearly planar atrial (diaphragmatic) and auricular (sternocostal) surfaces. The heart constituted 0.01 of body mass in the near-term fetus. Within the thoracic cavity, the heart tilted forward on its long axis, placing the great basal vessels in the region of the thoracic inlet. The aorta extended forward from mid-base in parallel with the pulmonary trunk, arched sharply to the left, producing in succession the brachiocephalic trunk, left common carotid artery, and the left subclavian artery. Bifurcation of the brachiocephalic trunk yielded the right common carotid and right subclavian arteries. The distal portion of the aortic arch was linked to the pulmonary trunk via the ductus arteriosus. The aorta then swung caudally over the heart base, descending beneath the bodies of the thoracic vertebrae. The ascending aorta featured three bulbous sinuses immediately distal to the three semilunar cusps of the aortic valve. Originating along the distal boundaries of the left and right sinuses were the left and right coronary arteries. The arteries were similar in size and, because each sent contributions along their respective coronary and interventricular grooves, the heart can be described as bilateral relative to arterial supply. Anastomoses were common within and between the two arteries. Venous return from the heart was comprised of the great, middle, and right cardiac veins, all three converging in the coronary sinus. The right cardiac vein also included tributaries that emptied directly into the right atrium.Conclusions: External heart morphology in the fetal bowhead whale examined was distinguished by a laterally broad conformation with significant compression between its cranial and caudal surfaces. Aortic

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Observations on the external morphology and vasculature of a fetal heart of the bowhead whale, Balaena mysticetus

et al. 1997

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“…After lectures on cardiology, I read the scant literature on whale heart physiology, in near disbelief that the aorta of a sperm whale has a 2-foot circumference and a staggering cardiac output of 450 liters per minute. 1 It was breathtaking trying to imagine the dynamics of blood flow in such a massive cardiovascular system. During neurology courses, I was amazed to learn that marsupials do not have a corpus callosum connecting the hemispheres of their brain (they are connected via a different tract).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%