[Stereological ultrastructural study of myocardial atrophy in hypokinesia]

The myocardium of Wistar rats immobilized for 5, 15 and 30 days was examined by morphometry and stereological methods for evaluating the volumetric and surface density of myofibrils, mitochondria, T system, sarcoplasmic reticulum and for the measurement of the volumetric ratio of different ultrastructures to the density of myofibrils and the surface-volumetric ratio of the main organelles of the cardiomyocyte. Myocardial atrophy was shown to develop in the course of hypokinesia. The 30-day hypokinesia entailed changes in ultrastructural organization of cardiomyocytes, attesting to the tension of intracellular systems responsible for energy supply, of ionic membrane transport and the contractile apparatus.