The mitral valve apparatus is a complex structure consisting of the mitral ring, valve leaflets, papillary muscles and Chordae tendineae (CT). The latter are mainly responsible for the mechanical functions of the valve. Our study included investigations of the biomechanical and structural properties of CT collected from canine and porcine hearts, as there are no studies about these properties of canine CT. We performed a static uniaxial tensile test on CT samples and a histopathological analysis in order to examine their microstructure. The results were analyzed to clarify whether the changes in mechanical persistence of Chordae tendineae are combined with the alterations in their structure. This study offers clinical insight for future research, allowing for an understanding of the process of Chordae tendineae rupture that happens during degenerative mitral valve disease-the most common heart disease in dogs.
Keywords: Chordae tendineae; biomechanics; canine; heart; histopathology; swine.