During heart dissection a 1cm dead insect ?wasplike insect was recovered from left ventricle... blood clots were adherent to the insect. I found it difficult to convince my colleagues. is it possible to find an insect in left ventricle ? can anyone give me a supporting evidence?
This is a case of invasive myiasis. If eggs of the insect gain access, e.g. through a lesion, to blood vessels they can reach other organs. If eggs are swallowed, larvae and imagos can develop in the intestine. Some of the causing insects (e.g. (Cochliomyia hominivorax, Chrysomya bezziana, Chrysomya albiceps, Lucilia cuprina) are truly invasive.
This case needs to be published!!
Dear Dr. Kumaran
It can be a cardiac involvement of a rare parasitic infection (but most of them don't look like wasp)
Here is an sample
Parasites Living on Human's Heart Normal, 360p
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qkmff5KwQCo
I still don´t know what was the 1cm dead insect, wasp like insect recovered from left ventricle, that Dr. Kumaran refers.
Perhaps the attached paper can help
Regards
Herbstein
PS: In my opinion in this case a pic is a mandatory requirement.
sorry for the delay in uploading the picture. the bug was fixed in formalin and the picture was taken the next day
little confused whether it was an artifact.
it was a case of sudden death presented to autopsy.
Hi Dr. Kumaran,
Did you consulted the picture with an parasitologist or entomologist?
Is this a human heart? There are flies called screw worms that infest living mammalian flesh, for instance a screw worm fly, Chrysomya bezziana (the new world version is Cochliomyia_hominivorax). Then it could possibly, if rarely, get swept in a major vein all the way to the heart. It has been observed in extremely debilitated and neglected people. But I never saw a report of it reaching the heart.
(Fly pupae often have two spiracles at one end. If present here I cannot see them..)
Yes, it is an insect. There is a pretty clear insect leg sticking out in the picture. How it got there is probably the greatest mystery.
Well, like Lewis Maccarter said, it could be a case of myiasis which is often associated with the poorest and neglected ones. There are certain obligate parasitic insects which can lay their eggs in orifices of living hosts. The eggs ultimately hatch into larvae which can burrow their way through living and dead tissues. There have been cases of intestinal myiasis, cutaneous myiasis etc. It is possible that the insect developed from the larvae which might have been in the host for some time.
Were you able to identify the species of the insect with the aid of the Entomologist??????
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