ABSTRACT
The isolated right ventricular wall, like the septal wall, is a coronary-perfused cardiac muscle preparation which is composed of only a select portion of the whole heart. The rapid delivery of drugs into the coronary artery can be critical in ischemia/reperfusion studies, for example, which require an immediate delivery of drug to the muscle following ischemia. The right ventricular wall is pinned near the coronary with the endocardial side of the heart down and the coronaries proximal. The cannula must be sutured into the coronary in order to maintain constant perfusion to the heart. The coronary artery is very small and can be difficult to cannulate. For example, the cannula may dislodge from the artery while it is being sutured into the coronary artery. In summary, the isolated, coronary-perfused right ventricular wall preparation is an excellent choice as a model in which to study cardiac performance.
