Original Article Gender differences in the lumen of the left anterior descending artery— An autopsy based histomorphometric study Pravinkumar N. Kamaradgi a , H.V. Chandrakanth b , Tanuj Kanchan c, *, M. Arun b , Sapna Patel d , Alok Atreya e a Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, SS Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Davangere, India b Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, JSS Medical College, [16_TD$DIFF]Mysore, Jagadguru Sri Shivarathreeshwara University, India c Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur 342 005 India d Department of Pathology, [17_TD$DIFF]JSS Medical College, [16_TD$DIFF]Mysore, Jagadguru Sri Shivarathreeshwara University, India e Department of Forensic Medicine, Nepal Medical College Pvt. Ltd., Kathmandu, Nepal ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 27 August 2016 Accepted 10 January 2017 Available online 22 January 2017 Keywords: Coronary artery disease Left anterior descending artery Histomorphometry Lumen diameter Sexual dimorphism ABSTRACT Introduction: The prevalence of coronary artery disease is comparatively higher in males than females. The present research studies the sexual dimorphism in the luminal diameter of the left anterior descending artery. Methods: The study was conducted on 35 male and 35 female cadaver hearts. This histomorphometric study was performed by using the computer assisted microscope, to understand the gender based variation in the arterial lumen. Results: The study observed that the luminal diameter of the left anterior descending artery was higher in males. However, on correction with the weight of the heart, females showed a significantly wider coronary artery lumen, possibly indicating a better coronary flow in female hearts. Discussion: The study observation suggests how the females are better protected from the coronary artery disease than the males. More elaborate studies on larger sample are suggested to confirm the observations of the present study. © 2017 Anatomical Society of India. Published by Elsevier, a division of RELX India, Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Coronary artery diseases (CADs) are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. 1 Among the various causes of sudden deaths, CADs are listed at the top of the list as the most common cause of sudden death. 2 It is described that the prevalence of CAD is much higher in men than in the women until the 5th decade of life. 3 The anterior interventricular artery is a branch of the left coronary artery and it is clinically known as the left anterior descending artery (LAD). The LAD supplies the apex of the heart and the left ventricle. The blood flow through arteries is influenced by several mechanical and hydraulic factors, which influence the blood flow in the coronary circulation. 4 Though there are a few studies that reported about the normal coronary artery luminal size in different populations, 5–10 the gender differences in the coronary artery lumen have not been analyzed. The present study was aimed to analyse the histomorphometric feature of the LAD in South Indian population. The objective was to evaluate the sexual dimorphism in the luminal diameter of the LAD based on the histomorphometry and to provide a reference data for LAD dimensions in South Indian population. 2. Materials and Methods The present study was conducted on 70 human hearts (35 males and 35 females) obtained during the medico-legal autopsies performed in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology at a medical institution. The age of the deceased ranged between 15 and 35 years. The age distribution of the study sample is shown in Fig. 1. The samples were collected after taking a written informed consent from the kith and kin of the deceased. Seventy apparently healthy cardiac autopsy specimens with intact coro- nary arteries were included in the present study. The age, sex, stature, total body weight and weight of the heart were recorded in a data sheet. Stature and body weight were measured using standard techniques followed during the medicolegal autopsy. The stature was measured as the length of the body from head to heel * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: tanujkanchan@yahoo.co.in, kanchant@aiims.edu.in (T. Kanchan). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jasi.2017.01.005 0003-2778/© 2017 Anatomical Society of India. Published by Elsevier, a division of RELX India, Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. Journal of the Anatomical Society of India 65 (2016) 65–68 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of the Anatomical Society of India journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jasi