Venous drainage of the heart of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Abstract

This study was carried out to reveal the coronary venous system of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) heart. The hearts used in the study were obtained from six red foxes that were brought to the Kafkas University Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre after serious injuries due to firearms or traffic accidents and could not be saved despite all interventions. Latex was injected from the cranial vena cava and caudal vena cava to expose the coronary vasculature. Hearts were photographed after dissection. It was determined that venous drainage of the red fox heart was provided by the great cardiac vein, middle cardiac vein, right cardiac veins, and the smallest cardiac veins. The strongest of these veins was determined to be the paraconal interventricular vein with a diameter of 3.03 ± 0.44 mm. It was determined that the paraconal interventricular vein was accompanied by a strong vein with a diameter of 2.09 ± 0.43 mm in five of six fox hearts examined. It was observed that left atrial oblique vein participated in the formation of the coronary sinus in four hearts, and the great cardiac vein, middle cardiac vein, and the left marginal ventricular vein were seen to be drained into the coronary sinus in the other two hearts. It was determined that the paraconal interventricular vein and middle cardiac vein collected the venous blood of septum interventriculare via septal veins in all hearts. In this study, the smallest cardiac veins were clearly identified for the first time, and the myocardial bridge was revealed in a wild animal for the first time.