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Updated: Jul 3, 2026

Probing the Roles of Physical Forces in Early Chick Embryonic Morphogenesis
Published on: June 5, 2018
Physiology in phylogeny: modeling of mechanical driving forces in cardiac development
Anna Grosberg1, Morteza Gharib
1California Institute of Technology-Caltech, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
Abstract:
This article explores the heart phylogeny, the development of the heart from embryonic to adult shape. For the shape change from tubular to four-chamber to be initiated, a mechanical twist needs to be present in the embryonic heart tube. The helical shape of the muscle fibers in the embryonic heart is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for the transformation to occur. It is also necessary for the excitation pattern to be in the form of a spatiotemporal wave. Such a combination, while producing twist, does not negatively impact the heart's ability to work as a pump.
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