This is an in vitro study designed to assess the effect of temperature variation on the heart function of the five-strip eyebrow squirrel--amammal of the hibernating kind. A heart model of exsomatizing action and for determining the physiological parameters with four physiological recorders was used to measure the LVSP, LVEDP and (+/- dP/dtmax), respectively. It was found that the curves of the squirrel's heart mechanics property in relation to temperature variation are similar to the curves of the non-hibernating animals'. But, the squirrels' heart contraction function changes with in a much wider range, suggesting that their hearts are more tolerant of temperature variation.
Animals ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Female ; Heart ; physiology ; Hibernation ; In Vitro Techniques ; Male ; Myocardial Contraction ; Sciuridae ; anatomy & histology ; physiology ; Temperature