Congenital absence of right cardiac notch in the lung of a Bunaji calf

Abstract

The cardiac notch (fissure) is normally present in both right and left lungs of ruminants. The notch is usually smaller on the right lung relative to its left counterpart and distinctly confined to the lower parts of the third and fourth intercostal spaces where the pericardium comes in contact with the thoracic wall. We report a case of congenital absence of right cardiac notch in one out of the five White Fulani calves used for routine dissection in the Department of Veterinary Anatomy, University of Jos, Plateau state, Nigeria. A complete closure of the cardiac notch was observed between the middle and apical lobes of the right lung. Due to this defect, the pericardium was completely obliterated from view of the coastal surface of the middle lung`s lobes which occupied the supposed space for the cardiac notch in the right lung. To the best of our knowledge, congenital absence of cardiac notch has not been reported in literature. Hence, this study would benefit veterinary surgeons operating the thoracic cavity, radiologists examining radiographs and pathologists investigating thoracic cavity and its contents.

Keywords: Bunaji calf, cardiac notch, congenital absence, right lung