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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2007 Aug 24.
Published in final edited form as: J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2007 May;20(5):539–551. doi: 10.1016/j.echo.2006.10.013

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Anatomy of a vortex. Two fluorescent dyes identify the counterdirectional swirls in a vortex: inner descending (red) and outer ascending (green) swirls (A, reproduced from (4) with permission). The longitudinal view (B) of the two counterdirectional swirls (red, descending; blue, ascending) is compared with the end on view from the surface of the vortex (C). There is a striking similarity between a vortex and the clockwise descending and counterclockwise ascending loops of myofibers in the LV (D, reproduced from (5) with permission). Fibers in the LV resemble a state of ‘locked vortex’. The subendocardial region follows a geometric configuration of right-handed helix, while subepicardial fibers are in form of a left-handed helix (E). The right-handed helical arrangement of the subendocardial region can also be identified in the arrangement of trabeculae in the LV (F). L, left handed; R, right handed; 1, subendocardial fibers; 2, papillary muscle; 3, vortex cordis; 4, circumferential fibers; 5, subepicardial fibers