J Anat. 1998 Jul; 193(Pt 1): 105–119.
AbstractTransgenic technology has potentially solved many of the immunological difficulties of using pig organs to support life in the human recipient. Nevertheless, other problems still remain. Knowledge of cardiac anatomy of the pig (Sus scrofa) is limited despite the general acceptance in the literature that it is similar to that of man. A qualitative analysis of porcine and human cardiac anatomy was achieved by gross examination and dissection of hearts with macrophotography. The porcine organ had a classic ‘Valentine heart’ shape, reflecting its location within the thorax and to the orientation of the pig's body (unguligrade stance). The human heart, in contrast, was trapezoidal in silhouette, reflecting man's orthograde posture. The morphologically right atrium of the pig was characterised by the tubular shape of its appendage (a feature observed on the left in the human heart). The porcine superior and inferior caval veins opened into the atrium at right angles to one another, whereas in man the orifices were directly in line. A prominent left azygous vein (comparable to the much reduced left superior caval or oblique vein in man) entered on the left side of the pig heart and drained via the coronary sinus. The porcine left atrium received only 2 pulmonary veins, whereas 4 orifices were generally observed in man. The sweep between the inlet and outlet components of the porcine right ventricle was less marked than in man, and a prominent muscular moderator band was situated in a much higher position within the porcine right ventricle compared with that of man. The apical components of both porcine ventricles possessed very coarse trabeculations, much broader than those observed in the human ventricles. In general, aortic-mitral fibrous continuity was reduced in the outlet component of the porcine left ventricle, with approximately two-thirds of the aortic valve being supported by left ventricular musculature. Several potentially significant differences exist between porcine and human hearts. It is important that these differences are considered as the arguments continue concerning the use of transgenic pig hearts for xenotransplantation. Keywords: Cardiac anatomy, xenotransplantation Full TextThe Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (900K). Selected ReferencesThese references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
Articles from Journal of Anatomy are provided here courtesy of Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland How are pigs heart different from humans?An important difference is the presence of the left azygous vein in pigs, which drains directly into the coronary sinus; the human heart lacks this anatomic arrangement. In the swine heart, the right auricle has a narrow tubular appearance, compared with the triangular shape of that in humans.
How was pig heart genetically modified?The genetically modified pig heart was underwent 10 genetic modifications, knocked down 3 immune-rejection-related genes, and inserted 6 human genes and 1 growth gene for inactivation to control the size of the heart, which was provided by Revivicor, a regenerative medicine company based in Blacksburg, Virginia (USA).
Why did they use a pig heart?The hearts were procured from pigs that had 10 genetic modifications, including 4 porcine gene “knockouts” to prevent rejection and abnormal organ growth as well as 6 human transgenes (“knock-ins”) to promote expression of proteins that regulate important biologic pathways that can be disrupted by incompatibilities ...
Can humans survive with a pig heart?In the past month, researchers transplanted pig hearts into two people who had suffered catastrophic heart failure and were left brain dead but remained on life support.
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