6 - Development of Heart Flashcards
Cardiovascular system appears in middle of
week 3; it is the first major system to function within the embryo with the heart beginning to function during week 4
Cardiac crescent
(contains
primary heart field
Establishing & patterning of primary heart field (
~ 3rd week)
Progenitor heart cells migrate through
primitive streak
Into the splanchnic layer of lateral plate mesoderm
1st sign of heart formation a
solid, horseshoe-shaped cluster of cells
Primary heart field
These cells in the primary heart field will form the
atria, left ventricle, and part of right ventricle
Remainder of right ventricle and outflow tract are derived from the
secondary heart field
PHF = primary heart field SHF = secondary heart field
Once cells establish the PHF (primary heart field), they are induced by
underlying endoderm to form cardiac myoblasts & blood islands and vessels by the process of vasculogenesis
Vasculogenesis
Blood vessels arise from blood islands
Angiogenesis
Blood vessels sprouting from existing vessels
Heart tube formation & positioning
(~18-22 days)
Islands will unite & form a
horseshoe-shaped endothelial-lined tube surrounded by myoblasts within the cardiogenic region
- Endocardial tubes
Other blood islands appear which will form
the pair of longitudinal dorsal aortae
Lateral body folding creates
primordial heart tube.
The lateral sides of the horseshoe-shaped endothelial tube fold in
ventrally and medially, approaching each other at midline to fuse, forming a single primordial heart tube.
Due to rapid neural tube growth the embryo also undergoes
cranial to caudal folding (sagittal folding)
Cranial – caudal folding
repositions the developing heart and pericardial cavities
Prior to head folding, the heart is:
Rostral to the oropharyngeal membrane – ventral to the pericardial cavity
Initially, heart tube is attached to
dorsal side of pericardial cavity via dorsal mesocardium
The middle section of the dorsal mesocardium will disappear and create the
transverse pericardial sinus
At this time the heart tube consists of three layers:
Endocardium
Myocardium
Epicardium (or visceral pericardium)
Cardiac loop formation
(~22-28 days)
The heart tube elongates, forming
dilations and constrictions. These dilations and constrictions will become the adult derivatives of the heart.
TRUNCUS ARTERIOSUS
(Pulmonary trunk + aorta)
CONUS CORDIS
(Outflow tract of ventricles; Caudal portion of bulbus cordis forms R. ventricle)
BULBUS CORDIS
Conus cordis and truncus arteriosus
PRIMORDIAL ATRIUM
(Right and left auricles + portions of the atria)
SINUS VENOSUS
(Coronary sinus + sinus venarum)
The tubular heart undergoes
right-handed looping ~ 23 to 28 days, forming a U –shaped loop that results in a heart with its apex pointing to the left
Primitive ventricles move
ventrally & to the right while atrial region moves dorsally & to left
Attachment of the heart tube at the sinus venosus and the truncus arteriosus is fixed by its
attachment to the pericardial sac, so growth of the tube causes it to loop anteriorly and to the right
Primitive atrium takes a
posterior/dorsal position
When heart looping is complete, blood flows
uninterrupted through the different parts, as if in the original tube.
As the heart folds, its cranial end will shift
ventrally, caudally, and to the right. Its caudal end will shift dorsally and superiorly.
Circulation through the primordial heart:
Sinus venosus primordial atrium atrioventricular (AV) canal left ventricle (primordial ventricle) interventricular (IV) foramen right ventricle conus cordis truncus arteriosus aortic sac pharyngeal aa. dorsal aortae
Sinus venosus development (~7-8 weeks)
Sinus venosus receives venous blood from 3 paired veins:
Vitelline vv.
Umbilical vv.
Common cardinal vv.
Blood flow to the heart gradually shifts to the
right side due to the remodeling of vitelline, umbilical, & anterior cardinal vv. As a result, the right horn of the sinus venosus becomes larger than the left.
Left sinus horn becomes:
Oblique veins of the left atrium
Coronary sinus