Morphology and Morphometry of Aortic Valve in Humans and Porcines – A Comparative Study.

Background: The aortic valve is a semilunar valve with three leaflets that are in the left ventricle's outflow tract and only permits unidirectional blood flow away from the ventricle. The valve leaflet can tolerate extremely high mechanical and hemodynamic forces resulting from the great complexity and complicated cellular and molecular functions. Aims: The aim of the study is to provide an add-on to the understanding of the morphological and morphometrical aspects of human and porcine aortic heart valves on comparative grounds so that they can be used as a guide in the construction of three-dimensional (3D)-printed mechanical valve. Materials and Methods: Twenty swine and twenty human hearts were compared and examined in this investigation. The porcine and human hearts weighing in between 300 g and 450 g were considered, and any variation from the normal and any mechanical damage rendered during procurement were all excluded from the study. Results: The length of the attached margin of the right coronary cusp, left coronary cusp, and noncoronary cusp of human and porcine were 45.15 mm, 36.47 mm, and 41.53 mm and 36.55 mm, 43.14 mm, and 36.10 mm, respectively. The length of the free margin and the height of the cusps from nadir to the sinotubular junction and the effective height of the cusp from nadir to the free margin of the cusps of human and porcine have been compared. Conclusion: The human and swine aortic valves share morphological and morphometrical characteristics, which can be used to create 3D valves and tissue engineering procedures with greater biocompatibility and biofunctionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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