Abstract
Ectopia cordis is a rare congenital heart disease characterized by partial or complete displacement of the heart out of the thoracic cavity. Apart from cattle, the condition has also been described in humans and is frequently associated with Cantrell’s pentalogy. It is classified into five types: cervical, cervicothoracic, thoracic, abdominal and thoracoabdominal. The prognosis is poor and ectopia cordis may be linked to the presence of unbalanced chromosome alterations. In this report, a case of abdominal ectopia cordis is described in an aborted calf, in which no unbalanced structural chromosomal variants could be identified.
Highlights
Ectopia cordis is an uncommon congenital heart disease (Gabriel et al, 2014) described in several animal species such as cattle, pigs (Gruys et al, 1978), rabbits (De Sesso, 1979) and hamsters (Willhite, 1983)
Based on the position of the heart and the absence of a diaphragmatic hernia, it was diagnosed as an abdominal ectopia cordis as a result of migratory failure and not due to abnormal ventral midline fusion
According to the position of the misplaced heart, ectopia cordis can be classified into five types
Summary
Ectopia cordis is an uncommon congenital heart disease (Gabriel et al, 2014) described in several animal species such as cattle, pigs (Gruys et al, 1978), rabbits (De Sesso, 1979) and hamsters (Willhite, 1983). Apart from cattle, the condition has been described in humans and is frequently associated with Cantrell’s pentalogy.
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