Light and Scanning Electron Microscopic Examination of the Saanen Goat Heart

Abstract

It is important to know the morphological structure of the heart, which is a vital organ of the body, in detail. For this reason, we aimed to examine the morphological structure of the Saanen goat heart using light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A total of thirteen Saanen goat hearts were used in the study. To demonstrate the histological structure of the heart, samples taken from 9 hearts were fixed in 10% formaldehyde solution and blocked in paraffin after routine histological procedures. Histological staining was performed on the sections taken from the blocks. Four hearts were fixed in a 2.5% glutaraldehyde solution for electron microscopic examination. The samples taken were dehydrated with different concentrations of acetone, treated with osmium tetroxide, and critical point dried in accordance with SEM procedures. After being coated with gold/palladium (Au/Pd), samples were made ready for imaging under SEM. The general structure of the heart was determined in detail with histological and SEM examination. Although the structural findings of the Saanen goat heart were generally similar to findings in the literature, the shapes of the cells that formed the Purkinje fiber networks in SEM examination were different from other species. It is thought that the images obtained will help in studies of the morphological structure of the heart and in detecting pathological changes that may occur in the heart.