Introduction:

Controversies still persist regarding the events of cardiovascular morphogenesis and an almost total absence of morphometric parameters in the initial phases of its development.

Objectives:

To determine the non-compacted to compacted (NC/C) myocardium ratio in both ventricles and the chronological progression of this ratio in the period studied.

Method:

A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out with 18 human embryos belonging to the Embryoteca of the Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Villa Clara (Cuba) classified between Carnegie stages 17 and 23. The NC/C ratio -which is simply the mathematical calculation of the ratio between the non-compacted and compacted portions per specimen and per stage- was determined.

Results:

The application of this ratio in the right ventricle of the embryos obtained the following results: 7.17; 4.26; 3.12; 2.79; 2.36; 2.84 and 2.10 in Carnegie's stages 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23, respectively. In these same specimens, the left ventricle yielded the following results: 5.0; 3.80; 2.68; 2.18; 2.50; 2.01 and 1.56, also organized by stages.

Conclusions:

NC/C ratios obtained quantitatively support a progression of the ventricular myocardial compaction in the evaluated stages; their higher values at the apex denote that it may still be incomplete in this zone.

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