Cardiac embryology Flashcards
What are the two pericardia of the heart?
Fibrous and serous pericardium
Which two layers is serous pericardium composed of?
Parietal layer and visceral layer
What are the three layers of the heart wall?
Endocardium, myocardium and epicardium
What are the two heart chambers?
1) Atria
Right and left atrium
2) Ventricles
Right and left ventricle
What are the two heart valves?
1) Atrioventricular valves
Right atrioventricular (tricuspid) and left atrioventricular (bicuspid/mitral)
2) Semilunar valves
Pulmonary and aortic vales
What are the two septa of the heart?
1) Atrial/interatrial septum
2) Ventricular/interventricular septum
What is the flow of blood circulation?
Vena cava –> right atrium –> right ventricle –> pulmonary arteries –> lungs –> pulmonary veins –> left atrium –> left ventricle –> aorta
What is pulmonary circulation?
When blood goes from the heart to the lungs and back to the heart.
What is systemic circulation?
When blood goes from the heart to the rest of the body and returns to the heart.
When does the cardiovascular system appear?
Middle of the third week
Why does the cardiovascular system appear?
When the embryo is no longer able to satisfy its nutritional requirements by diffusion alone.
What is the first organ to function in human embryos?
The heart
When does the heart first start functioning?
Begins beating as early as 21st day. Starts pumping blood by the 24th to 25th day.
What is the structure of the first morphologically identifiable embryonic heart?
A single tube composed of contractile myocardium surrounding an inner endocardial (endothelial) tube, with an intervening extracellular matrix.
Where are cardiac progenitor cells of the first heart field derived from?
Intraembryonic mesoderm
Where do cardiac progenitor cells emerge from?
Cranial third of the primitive streak during early gastrulation
Which direction do cardiac progenitor cells migrate in?
Cranial-lateral
What happens to cardiac progenitor cells during their migration?
They become localised on either side of the primitive streak. Eventually become localised within the cranial part of the visceral layer of the lateral plate of mesoderm on both sides of the embryo. Then extend to the developing head fold to form a cardiac crescent.
Where are cardiac progenitor cells in the second heart field?
Present medial to the first heart field.
What do cardiac progenitor cells in the first heart field form?
Atria, left ventricle and part of the right ventricle
What do cardiac progenitor cells in the second heart field form?
Part of right ventricle, outflow tract and contribution to the formation of atria.
What happens as the lateral body folds move medially?
- Right and left sides of the first heart field move medially
- Two limbs of the first heart field fuse at the midline, caudal to the head fold and ventral to the foregut
- Vascular elements called the endocardial tubes develops within each limb of the first heart field
- The cells of the endocardial tubes coalesce into a single tube as the limbs of the first heart field join to make the primary heart tube.
What happens during the process of craniocaudal folding?
Cranialmost portion of the first heart field is pulled ventrally and caudally to lie ventral to the newly forming foregut endoderm. This brings the developing heart tube into the thoracic region late in the third week.
What is the endocardium derived from?
Cardiac progenitor cells
What is the myocardium derived from?
Splanchnic mesoderm containing myocardial progenitors by the 21st to 22nd day.
What is cardiac jelly?
A thick layer of acellular extracellular matrix deposited mainly by the developing myocardium. Separates the myocardium from the endocardial tube.
What is the epicardium?
Visceral lining of the pericardial cavity covering the heart.
How is epicardium formed?
Formed later by a population of mesodermal cells that are independently derived from splanchnic mesoderm migrating onto the outer surface of the myocardium.
When does the heart tube begin to bend?
Begins to bend on day 23 and creates the cardiac loop which is complete by day 28.