An animal model for venous thrombosis and spontaneous pulmonary embolism.
METHODS
An animal model.


OBJECTIVE
To test the natural sequence of venous thrombosis and pulmonary thromboembolism experimentally.


METHODS
Veterans Administration Hospital, USA.


METHODS
In dogs, a venous thrombosis was induced in a isolated segment of the internal jugular vein by a 5 min exposure to sodium morrhuate and then re-establishing venous patency. A tracer, (125)I human fibrinogen, was administered through another vein 1 h prior to the end of each experiment when a blood sample, the venous thrombus, and the lungs were removed. Thrombi were described by age, weight, histology, and fibrin uptake (thrombus to blood radioactivity ratio, g/g). Pulmonary emboli (PE) were identified by autoradiography of lung slices or by microscopic examination of lung sections.


RESULTS
Venous thrombosis developed in all experiments, duration 1-64, median 5 h (n=12). Histologically, younger thrombi were characterized by platelet aggregates surrounded by polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN), and uniform fibrin deposit; the older thrombi by platelet ghost cells, fewer PMN leukocytes, and broken fibrin strands and loops (n=6). Pulmonary thromboemboli were imaged as 'hot spots' in six of six experiments in which lung slices were autoradiographed and were identified microscopically in six of six experiments in which lung sections were taken. The number of PE diagnosed microscopically did not correlate with the age of the corresponding thrombus but was directly related to fibrin uptake (n=5, r=0.99, P<0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
An animal model for venous thrombosis that generates pulmonary thromboembolism has been described.
Frisbie
J H
JH
Spinal Cord Injury and Medical Services (128), Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, West Roxbury, MA 02132, USA.
D000818:Animals; D001345:Autoradiography / Q000379:methods; D001779:Blood Coagulation Factors; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004285:Dogs; D005340:Fibrinogen / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007456:Iodine Isotopes / Q000378:metabolism; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D010974:Platelet Aggregation / Q000502:physiology; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D011859:Radiography; D012976:Sodium Morrhuate; D013194:Staining and Labeling / Q000379:methods; D013923:Thromboembolism; D013997:Time Factors; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D020246:Venous Thrombosis / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology
D001779:Blood Coagulation Factors; D007456:Iodine Isotopes; D012976:Sodium Morrhuate; D005340:Fibrinogen