Journal article

Publication year: 2010

Pages: 9-12

Journal: Rechtsmedizin

Volume number: 20

Issue number: 1

ISSN: 0937-9819

eISSN: 1434-5196

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00194-009-0644-x

Publisher: Springer

Abstract: 
The term cor bovimum (ox heart) is found primarily in the professional jargon of medical examiners, although it is also occasionally used in a clinical context. This literature study revealed two origins for the term: one dates back to William Cowper in 1705 and the other to Giovanni Morgagni in 1761. The use of the term cor bovinum to describe a hypertrophied human heart cannot be explained solely by a comparison of scale to veterinary anatomy, as human hearts never attain the size and weight of bovine hearts (minimum 1800 g). It is more likely that the term is used in a descriptive, allegorical sense without exact weight specifications. Given that the term has historic roots and has been traditionally passed down, the authors believe that using the term to describe hearts weighing much more than 500 g or to describe cases of heart failure with hypertrophy and dilation of all heart chambers is still justifiable, at least in pathology.

Harvard Citation style: Risse, M., Reith, G., Busch, B., Dettmeyer, R. and Verhoff, M. (2010) The term cor bovinum. A literature study on the history of an analogy, Rechtsmedizin, 20(1), pp. 9-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00194-009-0644-x

APA Citation style: Risse, M., Reith, G., Busch, B., Dettmeyer, R., & Verhoff, M. (2010). The term cor bovinum. A literature study on the history of an analogy. Rechtsmedizin. 20(1), 9-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00194-009-0644-x