ANGIOGRAPHIC, HISTOMETRIC AND HISTOPATHOLOGICAL STUDIES ON THE INTRAMURAL CORONARY ARTERIES IN THE INFARCTED HEART

Arterial changes of the intramural branches of the coronary arteries were studied angiographically, histometrically and histopathologically in the heart obtained at autopsy from 50 cases with myocardial infarction and 21 control subjects. Stenosis was observed in 14.4% of the intramural coronary arteries in the infarction group, 3.0% in the aged and 0% in the young control group. Hypertrophy of the media was observed in 18.9% of the intramural coronary arteries in the infarction group and 10.7% in the control group. Proliferation of the internal elastic lamina was observed in 6.9% of the intramural coronary arteries in the infarction group and 0.9% in the control group. Stenosis of the intramural branches was the most frequent in those less than 300 p in diameter and was caused by muscular hypertrophy of the media. Histological changes in the vascular wall of the intramural coronary artery was less frequent in the distal to the epicardial branches with marked stenosis than distal to the epicardial branches without stenosis. ACTA PATH. JAP. 27: 511˜526, 1977.