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- Number 2 - Proceedings of the fourth European symp...
- Ultrastructural morphometric study on the rat heart in chronic alimentary thiamine deficiency
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Ultrastructural morphometric study on the rat heart in chronic alimentary thiamine deficiency
Abstract
Male Wistar rats were fed with a thiamine-free diet for 35 days. The growth of the thiamine-deficient animals was considerably suppressed, as compared to a pair-fed control group (body weights: 140.4 ±4.3 g versus 243.1 ± 4.3 g). A weight-matched control group was, therefore, evaluated in addition. Histologic and ultrastructural investigations of the hearts did not reveal any morphologic abnormalities. Morphometric analysis was performed on left ventricular papillary muscles and disclosed significant differences of stereologic parameters ("densities") between the thiamine-deficient group and the control group, but no differences were detected between the thiamine-deficient group and the weight-matched control group. It is concluded that stereologic parameters ("densities") of the myocardium depend on the body weight and on the heart weight, respectively, and that our experimental model of thiamine-deficiency was associated with a normal structure of the myocardium.