Solitary coronary ostium in the aorta in Syrian hamsters. A morphological study of 130 cases.
BACKGROUND
Solitary coronary ostium in the aorta (SCOA) is a rare anomaly, the pathogenesis of which remains uncertain. The lack of an animal model is one of the reasons why little understanding of this question has been gained. The aim was to examine the coronary distribution patterns associated with SCOA in laboratory inbred Syrian hamsters.


METHODS
The study concerns 130 cases detected in a database consisting of 1,202 internal casts of the heart, great arterial trunks, and coronary arteries.


RESULTS
In 21 (16.2%) cases, the solitary ostium was located in the left aortic sinus. In a further 58 (44.6%) cases, it was in the right aortic sinus. In the remaining 51 (39.2%) cases, the ostium was in the right side of the ventral aortic sinus of a bicuspid aortic valve. The distribution patterns were classified according to the location of the solitary ostium and the presence, or absence, and course of the main coronary arterial vessels. Overall, 14 categories were established, 10 of which had their counterpart in man.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings reported substantiate the use of the present inbred Syrian hamsters for further studying the morphogenesis of the SCOA. The results of a statistical analysis indicate that when a sole coronary ostium becomes established in the aortic root, the development of the resultant anomalous coronary arterial tree tends to happen through preferential pathways. In addition, they indicate that the branching mode of the coronary tree and the condition of the aortic valve are independent traits.
Durán
Ana C
AC
Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Málaga, Spain. acduran@uma.es
Fernández-Gallego
Teresa
T
Fernández
Borja
B
Fernández
M Carmen
MC
Arqué
Josep M
JM
Sans-Coma
Valentín
V
D000818:Animals; D001011:Aorta / Q000473:pathology*; D006224:Cricetinae; D004694:Endocardial Cushion Defects / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008647:Mesocricetus