BACKGROUND: One of the important parts of the cardiovascular system is the cardiac vessels. Ultrasonography which is the method of choice for evaluating the heart and vessels in all living animals can also be used in this fish. OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to make a full understanding of the anatomic and echocardiographic characteristics of these vessels in beluga and suggest standard methods of ultrasonography for this species. METHODS: In this study, a total of 10 immature belugas were selected. The transducer was placed on the ventral surface of the body, between pectoral fins and transverse and sagittal images were obtained. By moving the anterior and posterior regions the vessels were investigated. After the ultrasound examination, anatomic studies were performed. Length and diameter of the vascular compartment were measured and analyzed by SPSS 16 software and Paired Sample T – method (P>0.05). RESULTS: In ultrasonography, blood flow was visible because of the movement of echoic particles. Two precardiac vessels joining between the liver lobes constituted and common vascular compartment before entering the sinus venosus. In the anatomical study, the ventral aorta was bifurcate near the gills. The right liver adjacent to the vessel was shorter and wider than the left one. Moreover, the common vascular compartment was shorter and wider than the liver adjacent to the vessels. The ventral aorta was longer and wider than the right precardiac vessel and common vascular compartment but was shorter than the left precardiac vessel (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Due to lacing thorough anatomic and ultrasonographic studies concerning the cardiac vessels in this species, this study can be a cornerstone for further researches of this kind. In this study the long left precardiac vessel is named Common cardinal vein and wide right vessel is named Hepatic vein.

The use of cultured tissue has not yet become wide-spread in research involving equine disease, and this may be attributable in part to the scarcity of published reports concerning tissue culture methods for this species. We report here the isolation of equine microvascular endothelium (EMVE) from fresh omental tissue of horses and ponies. Fresh donor tissue was minced, subjected to collagenase digestion, and filtered. Cells were layered on 5% bovine serum albumin for gravity sedimentation, the bottom layer was collected, and the cells were plated onto fibronectin-coated flasks. Medium consisted of Dulbecco modified Eagle medium with 10% whole fetal bovine serum (wFBS) and 20 micrograms of endothelial cell growth supplement/ml. The EMVE grew readily in culture, had the cobble-stone morphologic feature at confluence, stained positively for factor VIII-related antigen, and metabolized acetylated low-density lipoprotein. Fibroblast and smooth muscle cell contamination was minimal in primary cell cultures, which were successfully passed and maintained in culture for 3 to 5 serial passages, using various media and substrates. Preliminary studies were undertaken to determine optimal growth conditions with a range of variables: serum concentration, extracellular matrix components, and growth factors. Optimal conditions were achieved with a minimum of 10% wFBS, and with either fibronectin or laminin as extracellular matrix substrates. The EMVE grew adequately in Dulbecco modified Eagle medium plus 10% wFBS, and the added growth factors or serum supplements did not appear necessary for growth of EMVE.

Dissection and injection studies in canine cadavers and in anesthetized dogs were conducted to determine the feasibility of using the latissimus dorsi, gracilis, and rectus abdominus muscles as musculocutaneous free flaps. Lengths of vascular pedicles for the latissimus dorsi (2 +/- 0.8 cm), gracilis (1.8 +/- 0.8 cm), and rectus abdominus (1.9 +/- 0.9-cm cranial deep epigastric, 1.7 +/- 0.5-cm caudal deep epigastric), as well as arterial diameters (1.28 +/- 0.31-mm thoracodorsal for the latissimus dorsi, 1.10 +/- 0.33-mm muscular branch for the gracilis, 1.25 +/- 0.25-mm cranial deep epigastric and 1.26 +/- 0.32-mm caudal deep epigastric for the rectus abdominus) were considered satisfactory for microvascular transfer. Fluorometry demonstrated overlying cutaneous perfusion in all flaps based on their muscle vascular pedicles, with the exception of the rectus abdominus flap based on the caudal deep epigastric artery. In this instance, up to 20% of the cutaneous element had questionable or no perfusion.