Measures of cardiac function in Theraphosidae spiders using in vivo magnetic resonance imaging

Merrifield, G. D., Brydges, N. M., Hall, L., Mullin, J., Gallagher, L., Pizzi, R. and Holmes, W. M. (2018) Measures of cardiac function in Theraphosidae spiders using in vivo magnetic resonance imaging. Physiological Entomology, 43(3), pp. 207-213. (doi: 10.1111/phen.12245)

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Abstract

We report the first in vivo cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurements of Theraphosidae spiders. MRI scanning is performed on six spiders under isoflurane‐induced anaesthesia. Retrospective self‐gating cine‐cardiac MRI (RG‐CINE‐MRI) is used to overcome the difficulties of prospective cardiac gating in this species. The resulting RG‐CINE‐MRI images are successfully analyzed to obtain functional cardiac parameters from live spiders at rest. Cardiac ejection fraction is found to increase with animal mass (Pearson correlation 0.849, P = 0.03) at a faster rate than myocardial tissue volume, whereas heart rate remains constant across animals. This suggests the spider heart undergoes additional biomechanical loading with age. The results of the present study demonstrate the potential for retrospective gating with respect to evaluating aspects of cardiac function in a wide range of previously inaccessible species.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Gallagher, Mrs Lindsay and Holmes, Dr William and Mullin, Mr James
Authors: Merrifield, G. D., Brydges, N. M., Hall, L., Mullin, J., Gallagher, L., Pizzi, R., and Holmes, W. M.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Psychology & Neuroscience
Journal Name:Physiological Entomology
Publisher:Wiley
ISSN:0307-6962
ISSN (Online):1365-3032
Published Online:26 June 2018
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2018 The Royal Entomological Society
First Published:First published in Physiological Entomology 43(3): 207-213
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy

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