On the Visceral Anatomy of the Python (Cuvier), Described by Daudin as the Boa Reticulata

Hopkinson, J. P.; Pancoast, Joseph

doi:10.2307/1004940

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…Early anatomical studies of hearts from pythons and other snakes had already shown that the atrioventricular valves are very large and that they appeared to fit the underlying septa. On this basis, it was suggested that the atrioventricular valves are forced caudally towards the muscular ridge and vertical septum during ventricular filling, which would effectively guide the oxygen-poor blood from the right atrium into the cavum pulmonale, while oxygen rich-blood is directed from the left atrium into the cavum arteriosum (Hopkinson and Pancoast, 1837;White, 1968;Webb, 1979). Our in vivo visualisation by echocardiography confirms this action of the atrioventricular valves.…”

Section: How the Python Heart Separates Blood Flows During Ventriculasupporting

confidence: 69%

“…Hopkinson and Pancoast, 1837;Jacquart, 1855;White, 1959;White, 1968;White, 1976;Webb et al, 1971;Farrell et al, 1998;Jensen et al, 2010). The heart consists of two separate atria, where the right atrium receives oxygen-poor blood carried by the systemic veins, while the left atrium receives oxygen-rich blood from the lungs.…”

Section: The Anatomy Of the Python Heartmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hopkinson and Pancoast, 1837;Brücke, 1852;Greil, 1903;Acolat, 1943;Webb et al, 1971;Webb, 1979;Van Mierop and Kutsche, 1985;Farrell et al, 1998;Jensen et al, 2010). Although these anatomical descriptions were performed before the ventricular pressure separation had been measured in vivo, it was speculated that the muscular ridge and the vertical septum provided the basis for functional separation of intraventricular blood flows and pressures during cardiac contraction.…”

Section: How the Python Heart Separates Blood Flows During Ventriculamentioning

confidence: 99%

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How the python heart separates pulmonary and systemic blood pressures and blood flows

Jensen

Nielsen

Axelsson

et al. 2010

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SummaryThe multiple convergent evolution of high systemic blood pressure among terrestrial vertebrates has always been accompanied by lowered pulmonary pressure. In mammals, birds and crocodilians, this cardiac separation of pressures relies on the complete division of the right and left ventricles by a complete ventricular septum. However, the anatomy of the ventricle of most reptiles does not allow for complete anatomical division, but the hearts of pythons and varanid lizards can produce high systemic blood pressure while keeping the pulmonary blood pressure low. It is also known that these two groups of reptiles are characterised by low magnitudes of cardiac shunts. Little, however, is known about the mechanisms that allow for this pressure separation. Here we provide a description of cardiac structures and intracardiac events that have been revealed by ultrasonic measurements and angioscopy. Echocardiography revealed that the atrioventricular valves descend deep into the ventricle during ventricular filling and thereby greatly reduce the communication between the systemic (cavum arteriosum) and pulmonary (cavum pulmonale) ventricular chambers during diastole. Angioscopy and echocardiography showed how the two incomplete septa, the muscular ridge and the bulbuslamelle -ventricular structures common to all squamates -contract against each other in systole and provide functional division of the anatomically subdivided ventricle. Washout shunts are inevitable in the subdivided snake ventricle, but we show that the site of shunting, the cavum venosum, is very small throughout the cardiac cycle. It is concluded that the python ventricle is incapable of the pronounced and variable shunts of other snakes, because of its architecture and valvular mechanics. Supplementary material available online at

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Section: How the Python Heart Separates Blood Flows During Ventriculasupporting

confidence: 69%

Section: The Anatomy Of the Python Heartmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: How the Python Heart Separates Blood Flows During Ventriculamentioning

confidence: 99%

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How the python heart separates pulmonary and systemic blood pressures and blood flows

Jensen

Nielsen

Axelsson

et al. 2010

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…The muscular ridge, sometimes referred to as the horizontal septum or Muskelleiste, is the most conspicuous septum (Webb et al 1971(Webb et al , 1974Holmes 1975;Farrell et al 1998;Hicks 1998). Previous studies on the python heart have emphasized the large muscular ridge (e.g., Hopkinson and Pancoast 1837;Jacquart 1855), the differentiation into left and right sides of the ventricle (Acolat 1943;Webb et al 1971), the reduced size of the cavum venosum (Van Mierop and Kutsche 1985), as well as the dynamic actions of the atrioventricular valves (Sklansky et al 2001;Jensen et al 2010). Most studies on python hearts, however, have placed little emphasis on the differences from other snakes and reptiles (Pettigrew 1864;O'Donoghue 1918;Goodrich 1919;Leene and Vorstman 1930;Vorstman 1933;Meinertz 1952;Goodrich 1958;Kashyap 1959;Meinertz 1966b;Robb 1965;Webb et al 1974;Webb 1979;MacKinnon and Heatwole 1981;Van Mierop and Kutsche 1981;Poupa and Lindström 1983;Jacobson et al 1991;Young et al 1993;Young 1994;Young et al 1994;Farrell et al 1998;Rishniw and Carmel 1999;Snyder et al 1999;Rush et al 2001;Chetboul et al 2004;Schilliger et al 20...…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anatomy of the python heart

et al. 2010

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The hearts of all snakes and lizards consist of two atria and a single incompletely divided ventricle. In general, the squamate ventricle is subdivided into three chambers: cavum arteriosum (left), cavum venosum (medial) and cavum pulmonale (right). Although a similar division also applies to the heart of pythons, this family of snakes is unique amongst snakes in having intracardiac pressure separation. Here we provide a detailed anatomical description of the cardiac structures that confer this functional division. We measured the masses and volumes of the ventricular chambers, and we describe the gross morphology based on dissections of the heart from 13 ball pythons (Python regius) and one Burmese python (P. molurus). The cavum venosum is much reduced in pythons and constitutes approximately 10% of the cavum arteriosum. We suggest that shunts will always be less than 20%, while other studies conclude up to 50%. The high-pressure cavum arteriosum accounted for approximately 75% of the total ventricular mass, and was twice as dense as the low-pressure cavum pulmonale. The reptile ventricle has a core of spongious myocardium, but the three ventricular septa that separate the pulmonary and systemic chambers--the muscular ridge, the bulbuslamelle and the vertical septum--all had layers of compact myocardium. Pythons, however, have unique pads of connective tissue on the site of pressure separation. Because the hearts of varanid lizards, which also are endowed with pressure separation, share many of these morphological specializations, we propose that intraventricular compact myocardium is an indicator of high-pressure systems and possibly pressure separation.

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“…The strong anastomosis of this vessel with both the afferent renals has also been clearly demonstrated by him in that species. Hopkinson and Pancoast (1837), demonstrated the origin of the vein in Python from the intestine, but do not give any indication as to the possibility of its connection with the afferent renals. Gadow (1890) states that the vena porte reaches as far as the cloaca, but no connection exists between this and the afferent renals in the case of Pelophilus madagascariensis.…”

Section: Anterior Blood Vesselsmentioning

confidence: 95%

On the venous system of the common Indian rat‐snake ptyas mucosus (Linn.)

Ray

1936

Journal of Morphology

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TH&EE TEXT FIGURES AND T W O PLATES (THREE FIQUR.ES) AUTHORS' ABSTRACTThe venou6 system of Ptyas mucosus (Linn.) presents the following features which appear to be hitherto undescrihed in Ophidia: 1) Direct connection of the anterior azygos vein with the lateral cephalic vein just behind the head and also its anastomosis with either of the common jugular veins (right or left). 2) Anastomosis of the right and left common jugular veins with the epigastric vein in the neck region. 3) Left common jugular vein larger than the right. 4 ) Origin of the OViduCal sinuses directly from the afferent renal veins and their termination on either side directly into the postcaval. )Persistence of the posterior cardinal veins in both the sexes. 6) Opening of most of the branches of the epigaetric vein directly into the vena mesentericn in the liver region and of a few only into the right lobe of the liver. 7) Branches from the meso-rectum contributing to the formation of the vena mesenterica. 8) Opening of some veins into a branch of the epigastric vein lying just behind the heart, which carry blood from the dorsal surface of the right lung, trachea, pericsrdial wall, and also from the parietal layer of the body wall on the left side. 517JOURNAL rm YORPEOLOGY, VCL. 59, NO. 3

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On the Visceral Anatomy of the Python (Cuvier), Described by Daudin as the Boa Reticulata

Cited by 12 publications

References 0 publications

How the python heart separates pulmonary and systemic blood pressures and blood flows

How the python heart separates pulmonary and systemic blood pressures and blood flows

Anatomy of the python heart

On the venous system of the common Indian rat‐snake ptyas mucosus (Linn.)

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