Cardiac Anatomy of the Pontoporia Blainvillei / Anatomia Cardiaca de Pontoporia Blainvillei‪.‬

PEREZ, W. & LIMA, M. Cardiac anatomy of the Pontoporia blainvillei. Int. J. Morphol., 24(3):351-356, 2006. SUMMARY: The aim of this study is to describe the external and internal conformation and the arterial irrigation of La Plata Dolphin's heart (Pontoporia blainvillei). Twelve animals obtained from nets of fishing ships were used and their hearts were studied by means of simple dissection. The pericardium was fixed caudally to the diaphragm, ventrally to the thoracic transverse muscle and laterally to the ribs and intercostal muscles. The heart weighted about 115 grams, was flattened dorsoventrally, its base was cranial, its apex was shared by both ventricles. The ventral face corresponds to the auricular face of the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria (NAV), and the dorsal face corresponds to the atrial face. In the internal conformation of the right atrium the great development of the crista terminalis and the fossa ovalis stood out. Inside the right ventricle the papillaris muscles were observed distributed in subarteriosus, magnus and parvi. The dextra septomarginal trabecules were multiple and situated between the papillaris muscles. In the left ventricle they had two well developed papillaris muscles. The left coronary artery is the most important vessel in the arterial irrigation of the cardiac territory.