Sanja Horvat i
Martina Sakač: Ductus arteriosus and foramen ovale in
the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). Original scientific student paper. Faculty
of
Abstract
In this study the closure of
ductus arteriosus and foramen
ovale in the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) was studied. The bottlenose
dolphin is the only resident marine mammal of the Adriatic Sea and strictly
protected by law. For the purpose of the study 49 bottlenose dolphin hearts
were examined. The hearts originated from bottlenose dolphins found dead from
October 1990 till April 2011 in the Croatian part f the Adriatic Sea. The heart
examination included the inspection of the right atrium and aorta. The status
of ductus arteriosus and
foramen ovale was noted. Both structures are open at
time of birth, but close during the first years of life what is much later then
in humans. We presume that the persistence of foetal
structure of the heart is the result of a lower evolutionary pressure on marine
versus land mammals.