Related Experiment Videos
Dilatation of the heart on postmortem computed tomography (PMCT): comparison with live CT
Seiji Shiotani1, Mototsugu Kohno, Noriyoshi Ohashi
1Department of Radiology, Tsukuba Medical Center Hospital, Ibaraki, Japan.
Purpose:
To delineate cardiac structures on postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) and quantitatively to prove dilatation of the heart after death.
Materials And Methods:
Our subjects were 50 PMCT of non-traumatic deaths and 50 CT of living persons (live CT). We measured maximal and minimal diameters of the superior vena cava (SVC) at three levels (upper, middle, and lower), the inferior vena cava (IVC), pulmonary artery (PA), pulmonary vein (PV), right atrium (RA), and left atrium (LA). Then the product of maximal by minimal diameter and the eccentricity were calculated.
Results:
The maximal and minimal diameters of the heart were significantly longer than those on live CT except for 1) the maximal diameter of the SVC at the upper level and 2) the maximal diameter of the PA. All of the products of maximal by minimal diameter on PMCT were significantly larger than those on live CT. All of the eccentricities decreased significantly after death except LA.
Conclusion:
The heart is dilated on PMCT, and the right side of it dilates toward a round shape.