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The concentrations (geometric means of 11 determinations) of 9 trace metals in 17 anatomic regions of dog heart tissue and blood vessels were determined. The relationships recognized within the set of trace metal profiles were comparable to those reported earlier for the cardiovascular systems of pig [J. Mol. Cell Cardiol 6, 383 (1974)] and those of beef [Bioinorg, Chem. (in press)]. These included differences in trace metal concentrations that allowed differentiation of the following tissues from each other: (1) ordinary and specialized myocardium from blood vessels and heart valves, (2) blood vessels from heart valves and (3) arterial from venous tissues.

The pattern recognition procedure of discriminant analysis has been used to characterize the trace metal profiles created by the concentrations of 8 trace metals in 15 anatomic sites of beef heart tissue. Metals analyzed were copper, tin, lead, molybdenum, strontium, cesium, barium, and aluminum. Anatomic sites sampled included main pulmonary artery, aorta, mitral and tricuspid valves, left and right coronary arteries, os cordis, right atrium, left atrial appendage, crista supraventricularis, left bundle branch, free wall of the right and left ventricles, interventricular septum, and papillary muscle of the left ventricle. The striking features of the data were: (1) All specimens of the mitral valve, tricuspid valve, and os cordis were ambiguously described by their trace metal profiles; (2) the four blood vessels constituted two groups of two tissues each (aorta, main pulmonary artery; left and right coronary arteries); (3) tissues derived from ordinary and specialized myocardium were quite different from blood vessels, heart valves and os cordis. Using these profiles, 85% of the specimens analyzed were correctly classified by discriminant analysis with respect to their anatomic origin.

The concentrations of 8 trace metals in 15 discrete anatomic sites of 11 beef hearts have been determined by emission spectrometry. The metals determined were copper, aluminum, barium cesium, tin, strontium, lead, and molybdenum. Anatomic sites samples included aorta, main pulmonary artery, tricuspid valve, mitral valve, right and left coronary arteries, os cordis, right atrium, left atrial appendage, right and left ventricles (free wall), left ventricle-papillary muscle, interventricular septum, crista supraventricularis, and left bundle branch. Statistical analysis of the data incorporated a multivariate analysis of variance and a Duncan analysis. The results showed that many tissues of the beef cardiovascular system have distinctive trace metal compositions.