The growth of infant hearts grafted to young and adult rats.

Hearts from infant rats were grafted to the abdominal cavities of infant or adult hosts by end-to-side anastomosis of the graft's aorta to the host dorsal aorta, and of the donor's pulmonary artery to the inferior vena cava of the host. In such transplants, circulation through the heart bypassed the left atrium and ventricle. Four months after operation, the grafts had grown to normal adult sizes and their right ventricles had hypertrophied commensurate with the left side.