Typification the tendinous cords of the left valve complex of sheep hearts

Forty Santa Ines sheep (Ovis aries Lin.) hearts were examined with the purpose of studying the present types of chordae  tendineae in the left valve complex. The study was performed at the State University of North Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro, Morphology sector of the Agricultural Science Animal Health Center Laboratory. Hearts were initially kept in 10% formalin solution and later dissected to undergo removal and plannifcation of left atrioventricular complex. With the removal of the left atrioventricular complex began the observation and characterization of the cord. After the analysis we observed the presence of eight types of cuspidal chordae tendineae present in the left valve complex, they were classifed as type I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII and commissural kind.

Life cycle of female ticks of Amblyomma cooperi Nuttal & Warburton, 1908 (Acari: Ixodidae) under laboratory conditions

The biological cycle of female ticks of Amblyomma cooperi was studied under controlled conditions. The study has begun with two engorged females collected in a naturally infested wild capybara. The larvae originated from the oviposition of these two females were used for collecting young adults through artificial infestations in rabbits. The female parasitic and free living phases were evaluated using artificial infestation of ticks in a capybara. The average body weight of female was 958.2+/-175.6mg, the average pre-egg laying period was 8.5+/-1.4 days, the reproductive efficiency index was 59.5+/-4.2 and the nutritional efficiency index was 77.3+/-4.8. The incubation and eclosion periods were 41.0 and 5.0 days, respectively, and the rate of eclosion was 64 per cent. These figures were obtained under hight relative humidity conditions which were necessary for the sucess of the egg incubation process of this species. The preliminary data obtained with the artificial infestation in rabbits raises the possibility of this and other domestic species be used as an epidemiologic link between the domestic and the wild environment with the potential exposure of human populations to A. cooperi and to the maculosa fever agent