Skip to main content
PMC home page
Thorax logoLink to Thorax
. 1986 Sep;41(9):696–700. doi: 10.1136/thx.41.9.696

Pulmonary haemodynamics of the yak, cattle, and cross breeds at high altitude.

I S Anand, E Harris, R Ferrari, P Pearce, P Harris
PMCID: PMC460434  PMID: 3787555

Abstract

The pulmonary arterial pressure of Ladakhi yaks, at an altitude of about 4500m, was not significantly different from that found in yaks bred at low altitude. The pulmonary arterial resistance, however, was slightly but significantly increased in the high altitude group. It is concluded that the yak has adapted genetically to high altitude by largely eliminating the hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstrictor response. The pulmonary arterial pressure and resistance were significantly higher in indigenous Himalayan cattle than in the yaks. The dzo (cow X yak) had pulmonary haemodynamics similar to those of the yak. Half of the stols (dzo X bull) had pulmonary haemodynamics similar to those of the yak, while in the other half the findings resembled those in the cow. The results suggest that the genetic attenuation of the hypoxic vasoconstrictor response is transmitted as a simple autosomal dominant.

Full text

PDF
698

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. ALEXANDER A. F. The bovine lung: normal vascular histology and vascular lesions in high mountain disease. Med Thorac. 1962;19:528–542. doi: 10.1159/000192262. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. HECHT H. H., KUIDA H., LANGE R. L., HORNE J. L., BROWN A. M. Brisket disease. III. Clinical features and hemodynamic observations in altitude-dependent right heart failure of cattle. Am J Med. 1962 Feb;32:171–183. doi: 10.1016/0002-9343(62)90288-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Harris P., Heath D., Smith P., Williams D. R., Ramirez A., Krüger H., Jones D. M. Pulmonary circulation of the llama at high and low altitudes. Thorax. 1982 Jan;37(1):38–45. doi: 10.1136/thx.37.1.38. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Heath D., Castillo Y., Arias-Stella J., Harris P. The small pulmonary arteries of the llama and other domestic animals native to high altitudes. Cardiovasc Res. 1969 Jan;3(1):75–78. doi: 10.1093/cvr/3.1.75. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Heath D., Smith P., Williams D., Harris P., Arias-Stella J., Krüger H. The heart and pulmonary vasculature of the llama (Lama glama). Thorax. 1974 Jul;29(4):463–471. doi: 10.1136/thx.29.4.463. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Heath D., Williams D., Dickinson J. The pulmonary arteries of the yak. Cardiovasc Res. 1984 Mar;18(3):133–139. doi: 10.1093/cvr/18.3.133. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. REEVES J. T., GROVER R. F., WILL D. H., ALEXANDER A. F. Hemodynamics in normal cattle. Circ Res. 1962 Feb;10:166–171. doi: 10.1161/01.res.10.2.166. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. SIME F., BANCHERO N., PENALOZA D., GAMBOA R., CRUZ J., MARTICORENA E. Pulmonary hypertension in children born and living at high altitudes. Am J Cardiol. 1963 Feb;11:143–149. doi: 10.1016/0002-9149(63)90054-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. WILL D. H., ALEXANDER A. F., REEVES J. T., GROVER R. F. High altitude-induced pulmonary hypertension in normal cattle. Circ Res. 1962 Feb;10:172–177. doi: 10.1161/01.res.10.2.172. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Wagenvoort C. A., Wagenvoort N. The pulmonary vasculature in normal cattle at sea level at different ages. Pathol Eur. 1969;4(3):265–273. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Weir E. K., Tucker A., Reeves J. T., Will D. H., Grover R. F. The genetic factor influencing pulmonary hypertension in cattle at high altitude. Cardiovasc Res. 1974 Nov;8(6):745–749. doi: 10.1093/cvr/8.6.745. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Thorax are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES