Comparative Imaging Anatomical Study of the Heart and Selected Mediastinal Vessels in the Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

ABSTRACT The aim of the study was to prove analogy of the results from ultrasonographic, computed tomographic and post mortem transverse study of the rabbit heart and select mediastinal vessels. Ten sexually mature, healthy New Zealand White rabbits, aged 12 months, with a body weight of 2.8 kg to 3.2 kg were investigated. Two - dimensional transthoracic echocardiography was performed in right and left lateral recumbency. The transducer was placed on the thorax for imaging the heart in standard planes (short and long axis). Transverse computed tomography of the thorax was carried out before and after intravenous contrast administration. The animals were positioned in ventrodorsal recumbency. The post mortem transverse frozen cuts of the thorax were 10 mm thick. By the ultrasonographic study the centrally situated hypoechoic lumen of the ascending aorta was found. The hypoechoic left and right atria (proventricles), parts of the right ventricle and pulmonary ostium with the pulmonary valve were visualized peripherally. The entire heart silhouette was observed via computed tomography. The atrioventricular septum was seen as a hypo attenuating structure. The heart ventricles, atria, ascending and descending aorta, esophagus and trachea were visualized. The four heart cavities and major vessels were marked by the post mortem transverse frozen study. The comparative analysis of the data from the ultrasonographic, computed tomographic and post mortem transverse frozen study of the rabbit heart and its mediastinal vessels showed that the results could be applied in the interpretation and diagnosis of the heart and vascular lesions in this species. Key Words: Ultrasonography, computed tomography, cadaver anatomy, heart, rabbit OZET TAVŞANLARDA KALP VE SECILMIŞ MEDIASTINAL DAMARLARIN KARŞILAŞTIRMALI GORUNTULEMELI ANATOMIK ARAŞTIRMASI Calismanin amaci, tavsan kalbinin ve secilmis mediastinal venalarin ultrasonografik, bilgisayarli tomografik ve post mortem enine arastirma sonuclarinin benzerliginin ortaya konulmasidir. 10 adet, 12 aylik yetiskin, vucut agirligi 2,8-3,8 kg olan saglikli beyaz Yeni Zelanda tavsani incelenmistir. Iki boyutlu transtorasik ekokardiyografi, sag ve sola lateral yatirmak suretiyle gerceklestirilmistir. Transducer toraksa, standart duzlemde kalbin goruntulenmesi amaciyla yerlestirilmistir. Toraksin enine bilgisayarli tomografisi intravenoz kontrast uygulamasi oncesi ve sonrasinda gerceklestirilmistir. Hayvanlar ventrodorsal konumda yatirilmistir. Toraks, post mortem enine dondurulmus olarak 10 mm kalinliginda kesilmistir. Ultrasonografik calismayla aort cikisinda, merkezi bir konumda yer alan hipoekoik lumen bulunmustur. Hypoekoik sol ve sag atriyumlar (proventrikuller), sag ventrikul ve pulmoner ostium ile pulmoner kapak kisimlari periferik olarak goruntulenmistir. Tum kalp silueti bilgisayarli tomografi ile gozlenmistir. Atriyoventrikuler septum bir hipo azaltici yapi olarak gorulmustur. Kalp ventrikulleri, atriumlar, aort cikisi ve girisi, esophagus ve trachea goruntulenmistir. Post mortem enine dondurma calismasi ile dort kalp boslugu ve buyuk damarlar isaretlenmistir. Calismada elde edilen veriler, tavsan kalbi ve mediastinal damarlarinin ultrasonografik, bilgisayarli tomografik ve post mortem enine dondurma calismasina ait verilerinin karsilastirmali analizi sonuclarinin, bu turlerde kalp ve damar lezyonlarinin teshisi ve yorumlanmasinda uygulanabilir oldugunu gostermistir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Ultrasonografi, bilgisayarli tomografi, kadavra anatomisi, kalp, tavsan