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Heart and spleen “Twin Grafts” in rats: Morphology and function in permanent survivals
Author(s) -
Blanchard Jacqueline M.,
Eckner Frederich A. O.,
Tauber Jürg W.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
microsurgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.031
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1098-2752
pISSN - 0738-1085
DOI - 10.1002/micr.1920040312
Subject(s) - medicine , palpation , spleen , histology , artery , ventricle , cardiology , heart transplantation , fibrosis , coronary arteries , transplantation , pathology , surgery
A new rat allograft model has been investigated for its potential to facilitate organ transplantation. In this procedure heart and spleen of male inbred LEW rat (RT1′) were connected to the main abdominal vessels in inbred ACI rat (RT1a). With optimal surgical technique we obtain 64% permanent graft survival (5–14 months) in the splenectomized recipients. Cardiac histology ranged from preserved myocardium with moderate thickening of coronary artery walls to diffuse myocardial fibrosis with marked involutional changes of coronary arteries. Whereas palpation and EKG wrongly indicate good function beyond the fourth month, only the phonocardiogram shows the rapid functional loss which reflects the true morphologic involution.