Lazzari heart display case
Dilated cardiomyopathy
The enlarged heart is open with a so-called ‘4-chamber’ section (showing 2 atria and 2 ventricles) that reproduces the imaging obtained by echocardiography. Note the dilation of the two ventricles, the normal valves, and the uniform color of the muscle walls. The two atria are mostly absent because they remained in the recipient’s body at the time of transplantation to be sutured to the new donated heart.
First Heart Transplant in Italy – 14 November 1985 (half of the specimen)
Cardiomegaly (weight 850 g) due to dilated cardiomyopathy
The heart is opened with a so-called “four-chamber” section (showing 2 atria and 2 ventricles), which reproduces the imaging obtained through echocardiography. The dilation of both ventricles is evident, as well as the normal valves and the homogeneous coloration of the muscle in the walls. The two atria are mostly absent because they remained in the recipient’s body at the time of the transplant, serving as the site for suturing with the newly donated heart.
G.B. Morgagni Museum of Human Anatomy
Section of Pathological Anatomy
University of Padua
