Journal of Rare Cardiovascular Diseases
ISSN: 2299-3711 (Print) | e-ISSN: 2300-5505 (Online)
The heart is a vital muscular organ responsible for pumping blood throughout the circulatory system. This study investigates the morphological, morphometric, and histological development of the heart during prenatal and postnatal stages in rabbits. For the prenatal analysis, ten rabbit fetuses were collected from pregnant local-breed does, while ten healthy adult rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) were examined postnatally. Histological observations revealed that cardiac differentiation begins between the 9th and 10th days of gestation, with the formation of a smooth-walled heart loop comprising the myocardial mantle, cardiac jelly, and endocardium. During embryogenesis, the heart undergoes distinct morphological transformations, including heart tube formation, looping, chamber development, and septation. Postnatally, the heart assumes a cone shape, pinkish coloration, and is positioned in the mediastinum, tilted toward the left, between the lungs and anterior to the diaphragm, spanning from the 3rd to 5th intercostal spaces. Histological examination of the heart wall showed three layers: endocardium, myocardium, and epicardium. The pericardium consists of parietal and visceral layers; the former comprises dense connective tissue fused with the fibrous pericardium, while the latter is closely bound to the myocardium and covered with a simple epithelial layer. The myocardium, the thickest layer, contains cardiac muscle fibers embedded in connective tissue with nerve bundles, lymphatics, and capillaries. The endocardium is a thin inner layer composed of endothelial, subendothelial, and subendocardial components. These findings provide a comprehensive understanding of heart development in rabbits and serve as a valuable reference for comparative and developmental cardiovascular studies.
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