VARIATIONS IN THE ANASTOMOSIS OF THE CORONARY ARTERIES AND THEIR SEQUENCES

Abstract

Anastomoses between the branches of the coronary arteries and with the arteries of surrounding structures have been quite definitely established by experimental ligation in animals, clinical observations combined with necropsy dissection, injection of the coronary arteries with subsequent corrosion of the extravascular tissues of both normal and diseased human hearts, and roentgenologic studies. Such studies have been made over a long period. Many of the earliest investigators failed to draw any conclusions at all regarding anastomoses. and simply noted that the animals died. Among these are Chirac,¹who used dogs, and Ericksen²and Panum,³who used both dogs and rabbits. Panum's experiments made with living animals were ingenious, for he put black melted wax into the innominate vein and then clamped the aorta to secure its entrance into the coronary arteries. In 1880, Samuelson and Bezold,⁴also using dogs and rabbits, concluded that the coronary arteries