R. Kamimura et al., BRANCHING PATTERNS IN CORONARY-ARTERY AND ISCHEMIC AREAS INDUCED BY CORONARY ARTERIAL-OCCLUSION IN THE CLAWN MINIATURE PIG, Experimental animals, 45(2), 1996, pp. 149-153
This study of 28 CLA WN miniature pigs (male 17, female 11, mean weigh
t 29 kg) was undertaken to investigate the coronary arterial branching
patterns and the ischemic area induced by surgical occlusion of the l
eft anterior descending artery (LAD) and change in the ischemic area o
ver time. These results were compared with those in dogs, which have f
requently been used in myocardial ischemic research. Regarding the cor
onary arterial branching pattern, there were fewer ventricular branche
s from the right and left coronary arteries than in dogs. The septal b
ranches arose from only the LAD and the posterior descending artery (P
D). The largest septal artery branched from the LAD. There were two ty
pes of septal artery branching patterns. In approximately 80% of the C
LA WN miniature pigs, the PD arose from the right coronary artery (Rig
ht dominance). The peculiarity of the coronary arterial branching patt
ern in the CLA WN miniature pigs was more similar to human beings than
to dogs. The ischemic area induced by occlusion at three-fifths dista
l section of the LAD was 12.1% to 22.6% (mean 17.1%) of the left ventr
icle. The ischemic area in all animals that died of global left ventri
cular malfunction and hemodynamic instability after LAD occlusion was
more than 25% of the left ventricle.