[Morphologic and histochemical changes in atrial and ventricular myocardium following adrenaline damage]

Changes in the myocardium developing after a single injection of toxic doses of adrenaline were studied. The course of adrenaline damage of the myocardium was shown to be wave-like. The most massive areas of degeneration and necrosis were observed on the 7th--14th day of the experiment. Ischemia developing because of the change of the microcirculation bed and impaired hemodynamics in the myocardium is a very important factor in the pathogenesis of adrenaline damage. The development of degeneration and necrotic areas in the auricles was found to occur later than in the ventricles which may be due to the ultrastructural features of atrial cardiomyocytes: the presence of electron dense granules, the destruction and decrease in the number of which coincide with the most marked signs of the heart muscle injury.