Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 6, 2026
Quantification of Mouse Heart Left Ventricular Function, Myocardial Strain, and Hemodynamic Forces by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Published on: May 24, 2021
Scaling of myocardial mass to flow and morphometry of coronary arteries
Jenny Susana Choy1, Ghassan S Kassab
1Indiana University-Purdue University, 635 Barnhill Drive, MS 2069, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA.
Insights
Coronary arterial volume scales linearly with myocardial mass. Other parameters like length, diameter, and flow follow power-law relationships, revealing key principles of heart vasculature design.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Physiology
- Biomedical Engineering
- Anatomy
Background:
- Scaling relationships between myocardial mass and coronary vasculature are established.
- Quantifying these relationships is crucial for understanding heart function and disease.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantitatively assess morphological and functional parameters of the coronary arterial tree in relation to myocardial mass.
- To investigate the scaling laws governing coronary vasculature structure and function.
Main Methods:
- Utilized eight normal porcine hearts for analysis.
- Perfused coronary subtrees with colored polymer (Microfil) to create arterial casts.
- Reconstructed casts to measure arterial volume, diameter, and cumulative length, correlating with myocardial mass.
Main Results:
- Arterial volume demonstrated a linear relationship with regional myocardial mass.
- Coronary arterial branch lengths, vessel diameters, and volumetric flow exhibited power-law relationships (approximately 3/4, 3/8, and 3/4, respectively) with myocardial mass.
Conclusions:
- Identified fundamental scaling laws in the coronary arterial tree.
- These principles may aid in diagnosing and managing diffuse coronary artery disease.
Abstract:
There is no doubt that scaling relations exist between myocardial mass and morphometry of coronary vasculature. The purpose of this study is to quantify several morphological (diameter, length, and volume) and functional (flow) parameters of the coronary arterial tree in relation to myocardial mass. Eight normal porcine hearts of 117-244 g (mean of 177.5 +/- 32.7) were used in this study. Various coronary subtrees of the left anterior descending, right coronary, and left circumflex arteries were perfused at pressure of 100 mmHg with different colors of a polymer (Microfil) to obtain rubber casts of arterial trees corresponding to different regions of myocardial mass. Volume, diameter, and cumulative length of coronary arteries were reconstructed from casts to analyze their relationship to the perfused myocardial mass. Volumetric flow was measured in relationship with perfused myocardial mass. Our results show that arterial volume is linearly related to regional myocardial mass, whereas the sum of coronary arterial branch lengths, vessel diameters, and volumetric flow show an approximately 3/4, 3/8, and 3/4 power-law relationship, respectively, in relation to myocardial mass. These scaling laws suggest fundamental design principles underlying the structure-function relationship of the coronary arterial tree that may facilitate diagnosis and management of diffuse coronary artery disease.
