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Deformation and wall-thickening of ventricular myocardium are essential for cardiac pump function. However, insight into the histo-anatomical basis for cardiac tissue re-arrangement during contraction is limited. In this report, we describe dynamic changes in regionally prevailing cardiomyocyte (fibre) and myolaminar (sheet) orientations, using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) of ventricles in the same living heart in two different mechanical states. Hearts, isolated from Sprague-Dawley rats, were Langendorff-perfused and imaged, initially in their slack state during cardioplegic arrest, then during lithium-induced contracture. Regional fibre- and sheet-orientations were derived from DTI-data on a voxel-wise basis. Contraction was accompanied with a decrease in left-handed helical fibres (handedness relative to the baso-apical direction) in basal, equatorial, and apical sub-epicardium (by 14.0%, 17.3%, 15.8% respectively; p 

Original publication

DOI

10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2012.07.014

Type

Journal article

Journal

Prog Biophys Mol Biol

Publication Date

10/2012

Volume

110

Pages

319 - 330

Keywords

Animals, Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Female, Heart, Muscle Contraction, Myocardium, Perfusion, Rats, Rats, Sprague-Dawley, Tissue Survival