title: Comparison between right and left ventricular myocardia during the human fetal period. Stereological evaluation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To develop a stereological comparison between right (RV) and left ventricle (LV) myocardium during the third human gestational trimester.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five human fetal hearts of the third trimester provided representative samples of 5 RV myocardium and 4 LV myocardium. The material was fixed in 10% buffered formaldehyde, and processed through routine methods. Fifteen microscopic fields were randomly chosen and counted in each ventricular myocardium using an "M-42" test system. The following stereological parameters were assessed: Vv (%), Lv (micron 2), Sv (micron 2/micron 3), Vp (micron 3), Nv (1/mm3) and total N.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No significant difference between the stereological parameters of the myocardial structures assessed was evidenced, when comparing RV and LV.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Right and left human ventricular myocardium are very similar during the fetal period at least in regard to their structural aspects.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Universitário Clementino Fraga Filho-UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. rxavier-vidal@interclub.com.br
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Xavier-Vidal
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Madi
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005318:Fetal Heart / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000196:embryology*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000196:embryology; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third