[Cardiomegaly due to iron deficiency in the rat (author's transl)].
The effects of chronic iron deficiency were studied in new born rats. Hemoglobin concentrations were significantly depressed throughout the experimental period when compared with those of control animals. At third postnatal month, there was a 56% increase of absolute heart weight and a 230% increase of relative heart weight. Heart weight increased much more than myocytes dimensions. This finding may be interpreted as characteristic of a double process of hypertrophy and hyperplasia. Both cell hypertrophy and multiplication were responsible for the observed hypertrophy of the heart. Number of capillaries/mm2 was unchanged, but both mean capillary diameter and total surface of capillary wall increased progressively during the period of anemia. The adaptation to myocardial hypoxia may be, in this experiment situation, localized at the capillary level rather than at the mitochondria. At cell level, we did not note any particular modification of the ultrastructure and particularly no degenerative change. No mitochondrial lesions were found even in severe anemics (blood hemoglobin below 3.2 g/100 ml).
D000747:Anemia, Hypochromic / Q000150:complications*; D000818:Animals; D002196:Capillaries / Q000473:pathology; D006332:Cardiomegaly / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000473:pathology; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D051381:Rats
Hypertrophie cardiaque secondaire à une anémie par carence en fer chez le rat.