Depressed regional deformation near the anterior papillary muscle. Holmes, Jeffrey W., Yasuo Takayama, Ian Legrice, and James W. Covell. Departments of Bioengineering and Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
APStracts 2:0092H, 1995.
The role of the papillary muscle in left ventricular function has received new attention. We hypothesized that regional mechanics of the left ventricular wall near the anterior papillary muscle are influenced by the papillary muscle insertion. We therefore studied three-dimensional regional mechanics in and near the anterior papillary muscle (APM) in anesthetized, open chest dogs using implanted radiopaque markers and biplane cineradiography. In seven dogs, deformation differed little between an APM insertion site (PMA) and a more basal site (PMB) overlying the APM. However, local shortening and wall thickening were depressed in both locations relative to anterior freewall sites (FWA, FWB) studied in five additional dogs. A distinct structural border was observed at the junction between the myocardial wall and APM which may preclude the use of homogeneous strain in that region. Data from within the APM indicated that uniaxial measurements in the papillary muscle are extremely sensitive to the orientation of the measurement axis, possibly explaining the variety of papillary muscle shortening patterns reported by previous investigators.

Received 1 August 1994; accepted in final form 15 February 1995.
APS Manuscript Number H672-4.
Article publication pending Am. J. Physiol. (Heart Circ. Physiology).
ISSN 1080-4757 Copyright 1995 The American Physiological Society.
Published in APStracts on 21 March 1995.