Cardiac plexus of dogs experimentally infected with Trypanosoma cruzi: inflammatory lesions and quantitative studies

Abstract

Qualitative and quantitative aspects of the superficial and profound cardiac plexus of dogs experimentally infected with Be-62 and Be-78 strains of Trypanosoma cruzi were studied. Animals were autopsied in the acute phase of infection. The inflammatory process, lesions and number of parasites were more intense and frequent in animals infected with the Be-78 strain than in those infected with Be-62. Despite this, no statistically significant differences could be found between the number of neuron bodies in the ganglia of infected and control dogs.Foi realizado estudo qualitativo e quantitativo dos plexos cardíacos superficiais e profundos em cães inoculados com o Trypanosoma cruzi das cepas Be-62 e Be-78 e sacrificados na fase aguda. O processo inflamatório, as lesões e o parasitismo dos plexos foram mais intensos e frequentes nos animais inoculados com a cepa Be-78 do que naqueles inoculados com a cepa Be- 62. Apesar deste fato, não foi verificada diferença estatisticamente significativa entre o número de corpos de neurônio por gânglio dos animais chagásicos e os controles.

Keywords

• Plexo cardíaco
• Trypanosoma cruzi
• Cão
• Cardiopatia chagásica aguda
• Cardiac plexus
• Trypanosoma cruzi
• Dog
• Acute chagasic cardiopathy