Premium
Dilated canine hearts: A specimen for teaching cardiac anatomy
Author(s) -
Cope Lee Anne
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
anatomical sciences education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.126
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1935-9780
pISSN - 1935-9772
DOI - 10.1002/ase.49
Subject(s) - anatomy , gross anatomy , medicine , thoracic cavity , human anatomy , hydrostatic pressure , physics , thermodynamics
Dilated canine hearts were used to teach undergraduate students internal and external cardiac anatomy. The specimens were dilated using hydrostatic pressure and then fixed using 5% formalin. These specimens provided the students with an alternative to prepackaged embalmed hearts and anatomical models for studying the external and internal cardiac anatomy. In addition, the dilated hearts are more similar to the organ they encounter within the thoracic cavity of their dissected animal. This gives the students a better chance of developing a three‐dimensional understanding of the heart. Anat Sci Ed 1:207–211, 2008. © 2008 American Association of Anatomists.