Arterial and venous vasculature of the heart of the beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas)

Abstract

The arteries and veins of the heart of the beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) are described from the dissection of nine specimens. The arterial distribution is composed of the basic mammalian pattern of two major vessels, the left and right coronary arteries, which supply the cardiac tissue. The venous drainage is provided by three major systems which are the great, middle, and small cardiac veins. The vascular characteristics of the heart of the beluga whale are the marked sinuosity of both coronary arteries and their main branches, the numerous large interarterial anastomoses between major vessels, and the duplication of vessels in parallel branches. These characteristics are discussed in functional terms and correlated with the diving ability of the species.

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“…The size of both coronary arteries was similar in the plastinated heart, and they had marked sinuosity ('tortuosity' of Rowlatt, 1981 andTruex et al, 1961) and similar contribution to myocardial vascularization. Similar morphology has been previously described in marine mammals, including the minke whale (Ochrymowych and Lambertsen, 1984), beluga whale (Bisaillon et al, 1988), bowhead whale (Tarpley et al, 1997), toothed whale (Rowlatt, 1981), and the pygmy killer whale (Klomkleaw et al, 2005), as well as sei and sperm whales (Truex et al, 1961). A contrasting condition of left or right coronary artery dominance was noted in the gray whale (left coronary artery) and in two of five sperm whales (right coronary artery) by Truex et al (1961).…”

“…Sinelnikov. In 1979 and1988, the body of Professor Pirogov was transferred to the Moscow laboratory at the Mausoleum of V.I. Lenin (VILAR) for further embalming.…”

The Heart of the Killer Whale: Description of a Plastinated Specimen and Review of the Available Literature

“…Due to the rarity of large cetacean strandings and post-mortem examination, there are few detailed investigations into the morphology of the heart [31,32], as reviewed in [33]. As with other cetaceans [34][35][36], the topography of the killer whale heart reflects the structure topography of the thorax, alignment of the ribs and their relatively unique bony distal part instead of the cartilage, which articulates with the sternum [12]. As noted by Slijper [14], the cetacean heart is rotated so that the left and right side of the heart are symmetric with the thorax and distinct to orientations of the heart within the thoracic cavity of terrestrial mammals.…”

The immune response and diving: conservation considerations for belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) in a changing Arctic environment

“…Further adaptations to diving include the anatomy of the beluga heart (Bisaillon et al 1988) and aspects of cardiac and pulmonary function (Fahlman et al 2019;Fahlman et al 2020). To the best of our knowledge, however, cellular adaptations to diving have not previously been of focus in beluga studies, and, with the exception of the connection to foraging, the direct relationship between diving and health has been little considered.…”