title: Spontaneous closure of isolated ventricular septal defect in the pika (Ochotona rufescens rufescens).
abstract: The incidence of spontaneously occurring ventricular septal defects (VSD) in PIKA neonates and its fate during development are investigated. A total of 160 PIKAs were used in the present study. They consisted of three groups; first, 56 live neonates, second, 37 3-week-old live animals and third, 68 animals which had died during the first two weeks after birth from unknown causes. As high as 8.9% (5 cases out of 56) of the live neonates revealed isolated ventricular septal defects of membranous type. Decreased incidence (2.7%) was seen in 3-week-old PIKAs. Its implication and significance are evaluated in the discussion.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D006345:Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D007793:Lagomorpha; D008322:Mammals; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology