Myocardial bridges in the human heart: morphological aspects

Abstract

The structures made of myocardium running most often above the coronary arteries are called the muscle bridges. However there is a large number of descriptions of that phenomenon, the data are not homogenous. Some papers affirm the occurrence of the clinical implications of their existence. The studied material contained 100 adult human hearts, both sexes, 21 to 76 years of age, preserved in formalin-ethanol solution. Standard anatomical methods were used in analysis with the help of a binocular magnifying glass. The presence of the bridges was confirmed in 41% of the researched material, most frequently above the anterior interventricular branch. The length of the bridges varies in the range of 2.3±42.8 mm, thickness 1.0±3.8 mm, angle between long axis of muscle fibres and long axis of the crossed vessel from 5° to 90°.