Langendorff perfusion method as an ex vivo model to evaluate heart function in rats

Abstract

The Langendorff Perfused Heart Model is an experimental procedure developed at the end of the nineteenth century by Oskar Langendorff. In this procedure, an excised heart has a cannula inserted into its aorta so that the heart can be retrogradely perfused via the coronary artery. The procedure has been improved in recent times, and these improvements are used to evaluate the direct effect of medication on the heart as well as the effect of ischemia–reperfusion injury on heart function. In this chapter, we describe protocols for evaluating heart function in Langendorff perfused rat heart.