Related Experiment Videos
Crossed atrioventricular connections
Insights
This study details four cases of crossed atrioventricular connections, a rare congenital heart defect. Most patients exhibit concordant atrioventricular connections, with various ventriculo-arterial connections observed.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Congenital Heart Disease
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Crossed atrioventricular connections are rare congenital heart malformations.
- Understanding these complex cardiac anomalies is crucial for diagnosis and management.
Observation:
- Four cases of crossed atrioventricular connections were diagnosed using cardiac catheterization and angiocardiography.
- These cases presented with diverse situs (solitus and inversus) and ventriculo-arterial connections, including double-outlet right ventricle and transposition of the great arteries.
Findings:
- Most patients with crossed atrioventricular connections demonstrate concordant atrioventricular connections.
- Transposition of the great arteries is the most frequent ventriculo-arterial connection type in these cases.
- A proposed classification based on atrioventriculo-arterial connections aids in understanding this malformation.
Implications:
- The bulboventricular loop plays a significant role in determining atrioventricular connections.
- Accurate diagnosis relies on understanding the spatial relationship between atrioventricular and ventriculo-arterial connections.
- This study contributes to the classification and clinical understanding of crossed atrioventricular connections.
Abstract:
Four cases of crossed atrioventricular connections are described. All of them were diagnosed at cardiac catheterization by angiocardiography and one was examined pathologically. Two possessed situs solitus, one with concordant connections and the other with discordant connections; the other had two situs inversus, both of them with concordant connections. Two had double-outlet right ventricle, one had transposition of the great arteries, and the other had normally related and connected great arteries. These cases have been interpreted as representing abnormal rotation of the ventricles following sepatation. A review of 36 cases previously reported on and our own cases, suggests that most patients have concordant atrioventricular connections. There are many types of ventriculo-arterial connections, the most frequent being transposition of the great arteries. There has not been any case reported with persistent truncus arteriosus. On the basis of atrioventriculo-arterial connections, we propose a classification for this malformation. We discuss the importance of the bulboventricular loop in the type of atrioventricular connections, some clinical implications for the diagnosis, and analyze the value of the rules to localize the ventricles by means of the position of the great arteries.