Left Ventricular Morphology of the Giraffe Heart Examined by Stereological Methods
The giraffe heart has a relative mass similar to other mammals, but generates twice the blood pressure to overcome the gravitational challenge of perfusing the cerebral circulation. To provide insight as to how the giraffe left ventricle (LV) is structurally adapted to tackle such a high afterload, we performed a quantitative structural study of the […]
An allometric analysis of the giraffe cardiovascular system
There has been co-evolution of a long neck and high blood pressure in giraffes. How the cardiovascular system (CVS) has adapted to produce a high blood pressure, and how it compares with other similar sized mammals largely is unknown. We have measured body mass and heart structure in 56 giraffes of both genders ranging in […]