Anatomic Study of the Right Coronary Artery in Pigs: Feature Review in Comparison with the Human Artery

Abstract

SUMMARY:A few studies conducted on the morphology of coronary arteries in pigs emphasize the description of its course and number of branches. The objective of this study was to determine the anatomic expression of the right coronary artery (RCA) in pigs of commercial stock. One hundred and fifty eight hearts obtained from pigs destined to sacrifice were studied. The RCA were perfused with polyester resin (Palatal 85% and Styrene 15%) and then subjected to KOH infusion for 5 minutes to release the subepicardial fat. Diameters were measured and courses were evaluated. Results: The diameter of the RCA in its proximal portion was 3.85 mm (SD 0.75). The right artery of the cone originated from the RCA in 100 specimens (63.3%) and from the aorta (third coronary) in 8 specimens (5.1%). The posterior interventricular branch (PIB) reached the apex in the majority of the cases (49.3%). Its proximal diameter was 2.75 mm (SD 0.61). The sinoatrial node branch (SAB) and the atrioventricular node branch (AVNB) originated from the RCA in 100% of the specimens. The diameters of the SAB and AVNB were 1.1 mm (SD 0.30) and 1.16 mm (SD 0.30), respectively. The posterior right diagonal branch was not observed. There is an agreement with most prior studies with respect to both SAB and AVNB emerging from the RCA. Morphometric and qualitative knowledge of the RCA and its branches in pigs is relevant for the design of procedural and hemodynamic models.KEY WORDS: Pig; Right coronary artery, Sinoatrial node branch; right branch of the cone.

Morphologic expression of the right coronary artery in horses. Comparative description with humans, pigs and other animal species

“…The AVNB has been described in camels and pigs, emerging from the RCXB within a range of 85-100%, an incidence consistent with the findings of the present series, and with reports for this morphologic expression in humans (Crick et al 1998, Pejkovic et al 2008, Sahni et al 2008, Saremi et al 2008, Ramanathan et al 2009, Ballesteros et al 2011, Gómez and Ballesteros 2013.…”

“…Similarly, an anastomosis of the RCB with the left branch of the conus has not been described in donkeys, camels, elephants and pigs (Cave 1936, Ghazi and Tadjalli 1993, Ozgel et al 2004, Sahni et al 2008, Yuan et al 2009, Gómez and Ballesteros 2013. The presence of a third coronary artery is an unusual feature of the coronary circulation reported in some animal species like elephants and pigs (Cave 1936, Weaver et al 1986, Crick et al 1998, Sahni et al 2008, Gómez and Ballesteros 2013) with a small number of observations, which is consistent with our findings (1.7%). This feature is widely described in humans within a range of between 25-35% (Kalpana 2003, Ballesteros et al 2011.…”

“…The presence of this branch has been reported in 60-93.7% in pigs (Sahni et al 2008, Gómez andBallesteros 2013), as ending at the middle third of the right margin of the heart. The RMB in humans has been reported in 95.5% of the cases as ending at the lower third of the acute margin of the heart (Ballesteros et al 2011).…”

“…In horses (Bertho and Gagnon 1964) and pigs (Gómez and Ballesteros 2013), it is reported as ending at the middle third of the ISS. This morphologic expression was observed only in one sample in the present study.…”

Morphological characterization of the coronary arteries in African sheep (Ovis orientalis). Differential analysis with those of humans and other animal species

“…In humans, the length of the LCA is 6 to 15 mm [4,26,37], 3.5 to 5 mm in pigs [16,33] and of 4 mm in white rhinos [29]. In humans, pigs and horses the LCA has been shown to be larger in calibre than the RCA, a morphometric trait that is consistent with our findings in short-haired sheep, whereas in the white rhino it has been reported that both CA are similar in size [4,6,15,16,26,29,33,35,37].…”