ABSTRACT
Studies on reptile hearts date back to 350 BC with Aristotle, who described the presence of the heart and blood vessels in multiple animal species, including turtles and snakes. In the early seventeenth century, Harvey described blood flow and the beating heart of various reptiles, noting the loss of crimson color to the ventricle with each heartbeat. Detailed study from multiple researchers over the last century have been built on these foundations, greatly enhancing our current knowledge of reptilian cardiovascular anatomy and physiology. Unlike mammalian hearts where the myocardium receives its entire oxygen supply from the coronary vessels, the reptilian myocardium receives oxygen from both coronary circulation and venous blood held within the chambers. Cardiovascular diseases are underdiagnosed in reptiles and can be attributed to multiple causes. A method to organize these causes is by using the DAMNIT mnemonic: Degenerative, Deposition, Developmental Anomalies, Metabolic, Neoplastic, Nutritional, Idiopathic, Infectious, and Traumatic.
