Morfometria do coração de gatos

Abstract

The understanding of the pathological mechanisms that affect cats depends closely on the knowledge of their anatomical and physiological particularities. In necroscopic examination, little is known about the cardiac dimensions of domestic cats. This work evaluated, through necropsy, the morphometry of the heart of 30 mixed breed cats, with no clinical evidence of heart disease, 14 females and 16 males, with weights ranging between 1.5 and 6.2 kg and aged between six months and 16 years old, sent to the Animal Pathology Laboratory of the Veterinary Hospital of the Federal University of Uberlandia (HOVET - UFU), from October 2019 to July 2022. The following factors were analyzed: post mortem time (TPM), sex (S), race (R), age (I), body weight (PC), body surface area (SC), spine length (CCV), thoracic perimeter (PT), vertical axis (EV), horizontal axis (EH), cardiac volume (VC), perimeter of the right atrioventricular ostium (POAVD), perimeter of the pulmonary ostium (POP), perimeter of the left atrioventricular ostium (POAVE), perimeter of aortic ostium (POA), right ventricular thickness (EVD), interventricular septum thickness (ESIV), left ventricular thickness (EVE), total weight of ventricles plus interventricular septum (PTV + SIV), right ventricular weight (PVD) and weight of the left ventricle plus the interventricular septum (PVE + SIV). Important information was obtained regarding the morphometry of the heart of cats, such as the percentage ratio between body weight and heart weight, the influence of sex on ventricular weight, the proportion between the thickness of the left and right ventricles, between the vertical cardiac axes and horizontal, and between the weights of the left and right ventricles. It is concluded that morphometry is a useful tool for the cardiac evaluation of cats at necropsy.