Key result
Purkinje fibers penetrated deeply into the myocardial tissue in cows, pigs, and goats, whereas in other animals they were confined to the subendocardial tissue, indicating species differences.
The morphological distribution of ventricular Purkinje fibers exhibits significant species differences, suggesting corresponding physiological differences in impulse conduction among mammals.
Limits translation of animal conduction models to humans; leaves open species-specific electrophysiological validation.
Distribution of Purkinje fibers, peripheral branches of impulse conducting system, in subendocardial tissue and in the myocardial tissue of various mammalian hearts were studied by histological methods (Otsuka & Hara method, PAS staining method, Masson-Goldner method and hematoxylin-eosin method).Purkinje fibers were distributed in the subendocardial tissues of cow, pig, goat, monkey and dog. And these distribution patterns were varied among animals. But, Otsuka & Hara method could not clarify the distribution of Purkinje fibers in subendocardial tissues in cat, rabbit, guinea pig, rat and mouse. In human's heart, Purkinje fibers were not observed because the specimen was not fresh.The observation of Purkinje fibers in myocardial tissue revealed that these fibers penetrated into heart muscle layer deeply and changed into common heart muscle fibers in cow, pig, and goat and that in other animals these fibers were not observed in myocardial tissues but changed into common muscle fibers in subendocardial tissues.These results indicating the species difference of distribution of Purkinje fibers suggest that impulse conductions also differ among animals in the physiological aspects.
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Koichi Inoue (1977) studied Normal anatomy of the heart (Purkinje fibers). Histological staining (PAS, Masson-Goldner, HE) was evaluated on Distribution of Purkinje fibers. Purkinje fibers penetrated deeply into the myocardial tissue in cows, pigs, and goats, whereas in other animals they were confined to the subendocardial tissue, indicating species differences.
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