Anomalous Origin of the Coronary Arteries in Two Calves.

ANOMALITIES OF THE CORONARY ARTERIES MAY INCLUDE ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING VARIATIONS: abnormal number, abnormal course, or abnormal origin. Many of these anomalies have been described in man.((28)) Anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (A.O.L.C.A.) has been estimated ((19)) to occur in one of 300,000 children and to represent approximately 0.5% of all types of congenital heart disease. In a recent review((28)) of these conditions in man, anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (A.O.R.C.A.) had been reported 16 times, A.O.L.C.A. 39 times, and anomalous origin of both coronary arteries from the pulmonary artery (A.O.B.C.A.) 5 times.A review of the available literature disclosed 12 reports ((3,6,8,10,20,23,24,25,26,27,31 & 32)) of anomalies of the coronary arteries in animals. Four of these reports ((10, 20, 31 & 32)) described A.O.R.C.A. in cattle. This review failed to disclose any accounts of A.O.B.C.A. in that species. The purpose of this paper is to describe the findings of two cases of A.O.B.C.A. in cattle.