The Porcine Coronary Artery Ring Myograph System

In this chapter, you will learn the methodological principles of the in vitro porcine coronary artery ring model. Knowledge on endogenous vasoconstrictors and vasodilators relevant for coronary arteries will be extended with physiological principles regarding their myogenic tone and explanation of the necessity of experimental precontraction for studies that characterize potential vasodilators. Design and proper usage of the myograph system are explained in detail. You will then learn about buffers suitable for transporting the explanted pig heart and for perfusing isolated coronary artery rings and how to expose coronary arteries from the heart and prepare coronary artery rings, mount the rings onto the myograph, adjust passive stretch and preload, equilibrate specimens and assess their viability, and ensure proper precontraction before application of experimental substances or other treatments. At the end of this chapter, original data of two exemplary experiments using a vasodilator from the class of potassium channel openers are shown.