Morphometry and topography of the coronary ostia in the dog.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to perform a morphometric examination of the coronary ostia, including their location in the area of the aortic sinuses, and to describe variations in ostia structure in the domestic dog.

Material and methods: The study was conducted on the hearts of 91 pedigree dogs of both sexes, aged 1 to 18 years (median 9 years), with a body weight from 1.2 to 65 kg (median 20.7 kg). Morphometric examinations of the coronary ostia were performed in the studied individuals, and the location of the structures in relation to the intercommissural lines was determined.

Results: Three types of location of the coronary ostia were distinguished, i.e. below the intercommissural line (type I), on the intercommissural line (type II), and above the intercommissural line (type III). In the studied dogs, the most common location of the ostia was type I - found in the left coronary artery of 74/91 dogs (81%) and in the right coronary artery of 42/91 dogs (46%). Morphological variations were shown in 36/91 dogs (40%) in the structure of the coronary ostia, including the presence of accessory ostia. The most common variation was the presence of an accessory ostium near the ostium of the right coronary artery, which was found in 28/91 dogs (31%).

Conclusion: The results may be useful in developing standards for procedures to replace the whole or part of the aortic valve and repair the coronary artery.