Morphology of the aortic arch and its branches in Maine Coon cats

Abstract

The morphology of the aortic arch and its branches deserves special attention. The branches of the aortic arch have a different sequence and sometimes different patterns of discharge depending on the type of animal. All mammals have a left aortic arch that emerges from the left ventricle of the heart. The remnant of the right aortic arch is the right subclavian artery, which may originate from the brachiocephalic artery, brachiocephalic trunk, or independently from the aortic arch. The use of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, and angiography with intravenous contrast agents as methods of visual diagnostics requires a clear knowledge of the variational morphology of the aortic arch, taking into account breed characteristics. The study aims to study the morphology of the aortic arch and its branches in Maine Coon cats and to determine their morphometric characteristics. The material for the study was the corpses of Maine Coon cats. The authors studied only five animals (two females and three males). The authors chose fine anatomical dissection of latex-injected arteries and morphometry as research methods. The study found that in Maine Coon cats, the brachiocephalic artery and the left subclavian artery depart from the aortic arch. The type of division of the brachiocephalic artery is bifurcation, there is a division into the right subclavian artery and the trunk of the common carotid arteries. The right and left subclavian arteries successively give off branches: the vertebral artery, the internal thoracic, costocervical trunk, and the brachial trunk. Differences in branching are noted only along the first branch of the right subclavian artery which is the internal thoracic artery. When analyzing the obtained morphometric data the authors found that the diameter of the brachiocephalic artery was significantly greater than the diameter of the left subclavian artery - 1.64 times and the diameter of the common carotid artery was 2.20 times greater than the diameter of the vertebral artery. An analysis of the cross-sectional area of the main branches of the subclavian arteries shows that the costocervical trunk and the internal thoracic artery receive the maximum development.