{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T09:27:43Z","timestamp":1785403663012,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":10,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,2]],"date-time":"2026-05-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777680000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100019315","name":"Kansas City University","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100019315","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/052em3f88","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Victor E. Speas Foundation, Bank of America, NA, Trustee"},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/006tvg625","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["MPs"],"abstract":"<jats:p>A challenge of studying mammalian cardiac embryogenesis is the limited ability to perform experimental manipulations in animal models. The avian embryo is widely accepted as a model for mammalian heart developmental studies. In this study, we establish the methodology and protocols for studying the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) heart at embryonic day 10 (HH38) using the FUJIFILM VisualSonics Vevo 3100 ultrasound system equipped with a MX550D small animal cardiology transducer. These protocols were designed to measure right ventricular wall thickness, pulmonary artery diameter, and the outflow velocities of the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) and the pulmonary artery (PA), thereby establishing baseline parameters of the normally developing quail morphology. Quail embryos are an ideal model for cardiovascular research due to their short incubation period (16\u201317 days), experimental accessibility, and strong similarities to mammalian heart development. These developmental similarities include, but are not limited to, looping, chamber septation, and the development of a true four-chamber heart. High-resolution imaging modalities, including ultrasound and optical coherence tomography, enable noninvasive, real-time visualization of cardiac morphology and function throughout development. Echocardiography allows for quantitative and qualitative assessments of myocardial structure and cardiac hemodynamics. The similarity to the mammalian heart, combined with rapid embryogenesis, makes quail embryos a valuable model for investigating congenital heart defects, genetic modifications, and fundamental cardiac developmental processes. In this study, we describe reproducible incubation protocols and baseline echocardiographic parameters used to evaluate morphological and physiological changes in the developing embryonic quail heart on embryonic day 10.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/mps9030071","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T02:06:21Z","timestamp":1777860381000},"page":"71","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Morphological Assessment of Stage HH38 of the Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica) Heart by Micro-Sonogram"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"9","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-5282-4438","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jaden","family":"Roe","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, Kansas City University, Kansas City, MO 64106, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ashlyn","family":"Benavides","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, Kansas City University, Kansas City, MO 64106, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5978-7846","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michael B.","family":"Filla","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, Kansas City University, Kansas City, MO 64106, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Douglas C.","family":"Bittel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, Kansas City University, Kansas City, MO 64106, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-1111-2073","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Whitney","family":"Shae","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, Kansas City University, Kansas City, MO 64106, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1250-4199","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Geetha","family":"Haligheri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ward Family Heart Center, Children\u2019s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, MO 64108, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1420-4656","authenticated-orcid":false,"suffix":"Jr.","given":"James E.","family":"O\u2019Brien","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ward Family Heart Center, Children\u2019s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, MO 64108, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-9407-054X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nataliya","family":"Kibiryeva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, Kansas City University, Kansas City, MO 64106, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"544","DOI":"10.1038\/nrg843","article-title":"Patterning the vertebrate heart","volume":"3","author":"Harvey","year":"2002","journal-title":"Nat. Rev. Genet."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"826","DOI":"10.1038\/nrg1710","article-title":"Building the mammalian heart from two sources of myocardial cells","volume":"6","author":"Buckingham","year":"2005","journal-title":"Nat. Rev. Genet."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"943","DOI":"10.1038\/nature06801","article-title":"The developmental genetics of congenital heart disease","volume":"451","author":"Bruneau","year":"2008","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1469-7580.2009.01173.x","article-title":"Developmental stages of the Japanese quail","volume":"216","author":"Ainsworth","year":"2010","journal-title":"J. Anat."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kundekov\u00e1, B., M\u00e1\u010dajov\u00e1, M., Meta, M., \u010cavarga, I., and Bil\u010d\u00edk, B. (2021). Chorioallantoic membrane models of various avian species: Differences and applications. Biology, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/biology10040301"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"a037218","DOI":"10.1101\/cshperspect.a037218","article-title":"The chicken as a model organism to study heart development","volume":"12","author":"Wittig","year":"2020","journal-title":"Cold Spring Harb. Perspect. Biol."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lansford, R., and Rugonyi, S. (2020). Follow Me! A tale of avian heart development with comparisons to mammal heart development. J. Cardiovasc. Dev. Dis., 7.","DOI":"10.3390\/jcdd7010008"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"19","DOI":"10.1007\/s00395-023-00989-0","article-title":"In-ovo echocardiography for application in cardiovascular research","volume":"118","author":"Hegemann","year":"2023","journal-title":"Basic Res. Cardiol."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3503","DOI":"10.1002\/dvdy.21357","article-title":"High-frequency ultrasonographic imaging of avian embryonic heart development","volume":"236","author":"McQuinn","year":"2007","journal-title":"Dev. Dyn."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Dave, M., Levin, J., Ruffins, S.W., Sato, Y., Fraser, S., Lansford, R., and Kawahara, T. (2022). A Novel Egg-In-Cube System Enables Long-Term Culture and Dynamic Imaging of Early Embryonic Development. Front. 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