Clinical Significance and Classification Pattern of Ventricular Bands in The Heart of Domestic Cats (Felis catus): An Echocardiographic and Morphometric Study

The present investigation was carried out on cardiac ventricles of fourteen adult Egyptian domestic cats of both sexes after physical and ultrasonographic examination to identify, schematically classify and echocardiographically assess the ventricular musculofibrous or moderator bands a or septomarginal trabeculae. The bands are classified according to in- sertion points into six types I, II, III, IV, V, and VI, and subtypes of Ia, Ib, Ic, IIa, IIb, Va, Vb, VIa, and VIb. The M. papillaris magnus was the largest and the Mm. papillares parvi were found two or three in the right ventricle where they were inserted in the septum. The two papillary muscles of the left ventricle were at the same size except in one cat where the papillary subatrialis was twice larger than the subauricularis. The trabeculae car- neae form deep spaces in the right ventricles and shallow ones in the left ones. Echocardiographically, ventricular bands of the right ventricle were difficult to appear while in the left ventricle, there was one cat showed the presence of an echogenic fibromuscular band con-necting the left ventricular apex and the ventricular septum. In conclusion: Bands of subtypes Ib, Ic, and Vb were absent in the right ventricles While, Ia, Ib, and Va were absent in left ventricles. The echocardiographic evidence of the ventricular bands revealed no interference to the ventricular contractility based on the assessment of the systolic and diastolic function.