Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Common ventricle with separate pulmonary outflow chamber in a horse.
- Journal:
- Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
- Year:
- 1985
- Authors:
- Zamora, C S et al.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A 3-year-old female horse was having trouble growing and couldn't exercise well, which led to concerns about her heart. After thorough examinations, veterinarians suspected she had a heart defect, possibly a ventricular septal defect or a type of tetralogy of Fallot, which are both serious heart conditions. Unfortunately, she was euthanized for further investigation, and it was discovered that she had a unique heart structure with three chambers instead of the usual four. Her heart had two normal upper chambers (atria) and a large single lower chamber (ventricle), along with a small separate chamber for the pulmonary artery. This condition was quite complex, and ultimately, the treatment options were not viable.
Abstract
On the basis of clinical and laboratory examinations, a ventricular septal defect or a variant of the tetralogy of Fallot was suspected in a 3-year-old filly with a history of poor growth rate and exercise intolerance. The filly was euthanatized and found to have a 3-chambered heart (cor triloculare biatriatum). The heart had 2 normally formed atria and a large common ventricle into which the right and left atrioventricular orifices opened and from which the aorta arose. There was a small separate chamber from which the pulmonary trunk originated. This chamber communicated with the common ventricle through a large oval opening along the dorsal border of the displaced, interventricular septum.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4008304/