This study aims to investigate the anatomy of coronary arteries and their primary branches in neotropical carnivores, given the functional significance of coronary circulation and the limited existing descriptions in this order. For this purpose, coronary arteries were dissected, and their branches were counted in 74 hearts from 20 species belonging to five families: Canidae, Mustelidae, Procyonidae, Mephitidae, and Felidae. In all specimens of the suborder Caniformia, the subsinuosal interventricular branch originated at the end of the circumflex branch of the left coronary artery (LCA). In contrast, in all hearts of Felidae specimens, the subsinuosal branch was derived from the right coronary artery. Among the 50 neotropical specimens of the suborder Caniformia, 13.1 ± 5.2 ventricular branches originated from the LCA and only 4.6 ± 1.4 from the right (p < 0.0001), characterizing a consistent left dominance. However, in the 24 specimens of the Felidae family, 10.5 ± 4.0 ventricular branches were found originating from the LCA and 10.4 ± 3.4 from the right, with no difference between the means (p = 0.82), defining a balanced pattern. It is suggested that the type of coronary circulation may correlate with the phylogeny of carnivorans.
Keywords: circulatory system; coronary dominance; heart anatomy; ventricular branches; wild carnivorans.
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