Regenerative capacity of transplanted cardiac muscle in the rat

The authors analyzed the regenerative ability of cardiac muscle in the rat. Normal cardiac muscle was minced into mm3 fragments and homotransplanted into a triceps surae complex cavity of a nonsibling rat. Subsequent histological examination of the cardiac regenerate revealed the presence of myofibers. These myofibers typically exhibited centrally located nuclei, a characteristic of normal cardiac muscle. However, the absence of intercalated discs and autonomous contractility prevented indentification of these fibers as cardiac.