Enlarge Descriptive Card Log Book Entry (none)
Rodin Number: none
E Number: none
Donor: Osler
Date: 1880
Size (H x W cm): 14.5 x 13
The specimen includes the right (R) and left (L) lungs, aorta (A) and heart opened on the lateral aspect of the right ventricle. The pulmonary artery (short arrow (A)) is markedly atretic; a widely patent ductus arteriosus is evident above (long arrow (A)). A glass rod (arrow in back view (B)) is situated in the foramen ovale. A view from below (C) shows a 5 mm ventricular septal defect (arrow).
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Comment
The case was described by Osler in the Montreal General Hospital Reports 1880 I: XXX in the section on Cardiac Abnormalities. His text includes a comment about "fresh beads of endocarditis on the lower border of the ventricular septal defect"; however, these are not evident on the specimen and there is no endocardial ulceration or other evidence of endocarditis. At some time, the specimen was placed in the Maude Abbott Cardiovascular Collection (probably by Abbott herself) and was thus not recognized by Rodin in his review. Abbott included the specimen in her Atlas of Congenital Cardiac Disease (Plate XIX Figure 6) as an example of Tetralogy of Fallot and clearly indicated its association with Osler.
Plate XIX Fig. 6. Pulmonary atresia with defect of the interventricular septum and widely patent ductus arteriosis. The defect is guarded on the side of the right ventricle by a false valve anchored to its walls by two amomolous chordae. From a male infant aged 13 days, cyanotic from birth and died in dyspnoeic attack. (From the specimen in the Cardiac Anomaly Collection of McGill University and reported by William Osler, Montreal Gen. Hosp. Repts., (1880) 1: 186, Case 3)