Electrocardiogram of the Opossum During Exposure to Cold

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Abstract
Ecg were taken of the opossum, Didelphis virginiana exposed to cold. Normal body temperature of 34.25[degree]C was maintained for 15-20 minutes when the air temperature was -10[degree]C. Heart rate decreased in a stepwise fashion as the colonic temperature decreased. Hypothermia resulted in the following ecg changes: phase 1 increase in the P-R, S-T, and T-P segments; phase 2, T wave inversion; P wave diminution; QRS spread; right bundle branch block; auricular flutter. The effects of hypothermia on the opossum were similar to the reported effects on other mammals except that the changes occurred at lower temperatures. Late onset of cardiac disturbances (at 18[degree]C) in the opossum is in accord with the notion that maturing mammals undergo a physiological recapitulation of tolerance to low body temperature; the higher the class the lower its tolerance to low body temperature.

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