Postmortem angiographic studies on the intercoronary arterial anastomoses. II. Intercoronary arterial anastomoses in occlusive coronary artery disease.

Abstract

Intercoronary arterial anastomoses were studied in 16 cases with obstructive coronary disease, using postmortem coronary angiography. In those cases, the number and width of arterial anastomoses were remarkably increased, and the area of myocardial infarction resulting from coronary occlusion is smaller than the anatomical region nourished by the occluded artery. It became, clear from those results that the protective effect of collateral development deter-mined the degree of the muscle damage following coronary artery occlusion. The occurrence of a recent coronary occlusion in the presence of old infarction was observed in 2 cases with findings of fresh infarction not only in the region supplied by the recently occluded artery but also in the area around the old infarction. Those cases suggested that the pararegional infarction was taken as a measure of the former importance of the occluded artery for the blood supply of the neighbouring teritory. On the basis of those findings, it is concluded that collateral channel which was detected in the postmortem coronary angiogram, has its function before one's death.