Control of early embryonic heart morphogenesis: a hypothesis
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Updated: Nov 6, 2026
07:30
Imaging Cleared Embryonic and Postnatal Hearts at Single-cell Resolution
Published on: October 7, 2016
Ciba Foundation Symposium
|January 1, 1983
Abstract:
The early events of looping (rotation and bending) of the embryonic vertebrate heart are deformations. The deformative forces and their regulation are intrinsic to the heart. A model of cardiac morphogenesis is described in this paper. It is proposed that synthesis of extracellular matrix by the myocardium generates an internal pressure. This pressure acts as a deforming force on the myocardium which controls strain by regulating compliance. This model provides an explanation of cardiac morphogenesis at the biochemical and biomechanical levels.
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