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Development of the Heart

Development of the Heart

The development of the human heart, a crucial organ, commences from the mesoderm on the 18th or 19th day after fertilization. This process initiates in the cardiogenic area, a group of mesodermal cells at the embryo's head end, which evolves into elongated strands known as cardiogenic cords. These cords undergo a transformation to form hollow-centered endocardial tubes.
As the embryo undergoes lateral folding, these paired tubes approach each other, merging into a single primitive heart...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 4, 2026

An Apical Resection Model in the Adult Xenopus tropicalis Heart

An Apical Resection Model in the Adult Xenopus tropicalis Heart

Published on: November 18, 2022

Reptiles as a Model System to Study Heart Development.

Bjarke Jensen¹, Vincent M Christoffels¹

¹Department of Medical Biology, Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC 1105AZ, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology

|November 13, 2019

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Reptile heart development reveals evolutionary insights into the complete ventricular septum found in mammals and birds. Studying diverse reptile species clarifies the origins of cardiac structures and adaptations.

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Area of Science:

Comparative embryology
Evolutionary developmental biology (Evo-Devo)
Cardiovascular research

Background:

A four-chambered heart is universal in vertebrates, yet reptiles exhibit significant diversity in ventricular septation.
Mammals and birds evolved complex cardiac features independently from reptilian ancestors.
Understanding reptile heart development offers clues to the evolution of the complete ventricular septum.

Purpose of the Study:

To explore reptile heart development in a phylogenetic context.
To identify primitive features homologous to mammalian cardiac structures.
To outline major developmental events and interspecies variations in reptile hearts.

Main Methods:

Phylogenetic analysis of reptile species.
Comparative developmental studies focusing on heart morphology.
Integration of genomic sequencing and staging systems for reptile embryos.

Main Results:

Reptiles display a spectrum of ventricular septation, from minimal to complete.
Precursor structures for mammalian and avian cardiac adaptations are observable in reptiles.
Genomic and staging advancements facilitate detailed studies of reptile heart development.

Conclusions:

Reptile heart development provides a model for understanding the evolution of the fully septated ventricle.
Comparative studies in reptiles illuminate the evolutionary origins of specialized cardiac features.
Further research on reptile embryos can yield significant insights into vertebrate heart evolution.