Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2017 Jan;156(1):33-36.
doi: 10.1016/j.jcpa.2016.10.008. Epub 2016 Nov 25.

Unexpected Cardiac Death During Anaesthesia of a Young Rabbit Associated with Fibro-fatty Replacement of the Right Ventricular Myocardium

M Romanucci  1 , S V P Defourny  2 , M Massimini  2 , V Valerii  3 , A Arbuatti  2 , V Giordano  3 , L Bongiovanni  2 , C Perrone  2 , L Della Salda  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Unexpected Cardiac Death During Anaesthesia of a Young Rabbit Associated with Fibro-fatty Replacement of the Right Ventricular Myocardium

M Romanucci et al. J Comp Pathol. 2017 Jan.

Abstract

A 6-month-old female pet rabbit was presented for routine ovariectomy. The pre-anaesthetic evaluation was unremarkable and no anaesthetic complications occurred during the procedure. However, at the end of the surgery, the rabbit suddenly showed acute bradycardia and cardiac death. Necropsy examination revealed marked dilation of the right ventricle, associated with diffuse thinning of the right ventricular free wall. Gross and histopathological findings were suggestive of a congenital dilated cardiomyopathy characterized by fibro-fatty replacement of the right ventricular myocardium. Similar myocardial lesions have not been previously described in rabbits, although they have been documented in myocardial diseases of man, dogs, cats, cattle, horses and chimpanzees.

Keywords: cardiomyopathy; heart; myocardium; rabbit.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Histopathology of the right ventricular myocardium. Severe, transmural myocardial replacement by fibro-fatty tissue (arrows). Residual areas of unaffected myocardium are visible at the top and right side of the image. HE. Bar, 66 μm. Inset: gross appearance of the heart showing severe right ventricular dilation.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Histopathology of the right ventricular myocardium. Severe myocardial replacement by fibro-fatty tissue (arrows), with admixed abnormal myocytes. Masson's trichrome. HE. Bar, 33 μm.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Histopathology of the right ventricular myocardium. Higher magnification of myocyte abnormalities characterized by wavy cell elongation, myofibre segmentation and multifocal myocyte hypereosinophilia (arrowheads). A few round inflammatory cells are also admixed with fibrous tissue (arrows). HE. Bar, 33 μm.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Histopathology of the right ventricular myocardium. Patchy, mild lymphocytic inflammatory infiltrates (arrows) admixed with the fibro-fatty tissue. HE. Bar, 33 μm.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Alexoudis A.K., Spyridonidou A.G., Vogiatzaki T.D., Iatrou C.A. Anaesthetic implications of arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy. Anaesthesia. 2009;64:73–78. - PubMed
    1. Azaouagh A., Churzidse S., Konorza T., Erbel R. Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy/dysplasia: a review and update. Clinical Research in Cardiology. 2011;100:383–394. - PubMed
    1. Basso C., Fox P.R., Meurs K.M., Towbin J.A., Spier A.W. Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy causing sudden cardiac death in boxer dogs. A new animal model of human disease. Circulation. 2004;109:1180–1185. - PubMed
    1. Butcovan D., Amalinei C., Grigoriu C. Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy – cause of sudden death in young people. Romanian Journal of Legal Medicine. 2011;19:189–194.
    1. Calabrese F., Basso C., Carturan E., Valente M., Thiene G. Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy/dysplasia: is there a role for viruses? Cardiovascular Pathology. 2006;15:11–17. - PubMed

Publication types