Cardiac biology and disease in invertebrates.
It may seem ridiculous to consider cardiac diseases in sub-vertebrate animals; when on earth is a tarantula, a butterfly or a snail going to be presented as a clinical case with heart failure or a congenital cardiac abnormality? This article examines the work of research groups investigating invertebrates as valuable models of heart disease in man. Examining invertebrates with gene defects similar to those in human patients with heart disease, congenital or acquired, allows us to probe deeply into the aetiopathogenesis of many cardiac conditions.
Williams
David
D
Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, St John's College, Cambridge CB3 0ES, UK. doctordlwilliams@aol.com
D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D007448:Invertebrates