[Quantitative morphology of coronary arteriosclerosis and coronary insufficiency in heart hypertrophy (author's transl)].

After post-mortem coronary angiography the degree of ventricular hypertrophy was estimated on 18 hearts. The cases were divided in three groups: 9 hearts with right ventricular hypertrophy, 4 hearts with left ventricular hypertrophy and 5 hearts with hypertrophy of both ventricles. Cytophotometric studies revealed a close correlation between absolute weight of heart segments and DNA content of muscle cell nuclei of both ventricles . Radius and area of lumen, thickness and area of both intima and media were measured at serial cross sections of all three coronary arteries. Using these data indices on coronary sclerosis and, including the heart weight, indices on coronary insufficiency were calculated. By determining these indices for the isolated right and left ventricle and the interventricular septum additional criteria suggesting failure of coronary perfusion were obtained. These criteria disclosed that in cases of right ventricular hypertrophy the connective tissue of the right ventricular myocardium was increased only at high values of the insufficiency indices. On the other hand in cases of left ventricular hypertrophy the morphological features of decreased perfusion of the right ventricle were observed at low index values. In all three groups the increased vulnerability of the left ventricle to failure of coronary perfusion was numerically proved.