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Statistical Analysis of the Angle of Intrusion of Porcine Ventricular Myocytes from Epicardium to Endocardium Using Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Author(s) -
Schmid Peter,
Lunkenheimer Paul P.,
Redmann Klaus,
Rothaus Kai,
Jiang Xiaoyi,
Cryer Colin W.,
Jaermann Thomas,
Niederer Peter,
Boesiger Peter,
Anderson Robert H.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the anatomical record: advances in integrative anatomy and evolutionary biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.678
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1932-8494
pISSN - 1932-8486
DOI - 10.1002/ar.20604
Subject(s) - endocardium , anatomy , basal (medicine) , diffusion mri , magnetic resonance imaging , myocyte , apex (geometry) , geometry , physics , chemistry , nuclear magnetic resonance , biology , mathematics , medicine , microbiology and biotechnology , radiology , insulin
Pairs of cylindrical knives were used to punch semicircular slices from the left basal, sub‐basal, equatorial, and apical ventricular wall of porcine hearts. The sections extended from the epicardium to the endocardium. Their semicircular shape compensated for the depth‐related changing orientation of the myocytes relative to the equatorial plane. The slices were analyzed by diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging. The primary eigenvector of the diffusion tensor was determined in each pixel to calculate the number and angle of intrusion of the long axis of the aggregated myocytes relative to the epicardial surface. Arrays of axially sectioned aggregates were found in which 53% of the approximately two million segments evaluated intruded up to ±15°, 40% exhibited an angle of intrusion between ±15° and ±45°, and 7% exceeded an angle of ±45°, the positive sign thereby denoting an epi‐ to endocardial spiral in clockwise direction seen from the apex, while a negative sign denotes an anticlockwise spiral from the epicardium to the endocardium. In the basal and apical slices, the greater number of segments intruded in positive direction, while in the sub‐basal and equatorial slices, negative angles of intrusion prevailed. The sampling of the primary eigenvectors was insensitive to postmortem decomposition of the tissue. In a previous histological study, we also documented the presence of large numbers of myocytes aggregated with their long axis intruding obliquely from the epicardial to the endocardial ventricular surfaces. We used magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging in this study to provide a comprehensive statistical analysis. Anat Rec, 290:1413–1423, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.