Cardiac Embryology Flashcards
What happens to the heart in development?
Starts of a midline structure that rotates to the left so left-sided structures sit posteriorly + right-sided structures sit anteriorly (retained embryonic naming)
Where do the blood vessels of the heart develop?
Extra-embryonic mesoderm (forms part of placenta + umbilical cord)
What do the umbilical arteries and veins communicate with?
The developing fetal circulation + developing placenta
At how many weeks is blood present in the fetal vessels?
End of week 3
When does the cardiogenic mesoderm develop?
Mid week 3 (day 18)
How does the heart develop in the cardiogenic mesoderm?
- Paired angioblastic cords develop
- Cord canalise to form paired endocardial tubes
- Heart tubes fuse during lateral folding (late week 3)
- Blood flow starts (week 4)
- Neural crest cells involved in process too
Where is the developing heart initially situated?
Above the head
How does the heart end up in its adult position?
Longitudinal folding + reversal moves the brain, mouth + heart into the adult position (~day 19)
What is the septum transversum?
Pulled underneath the heart during longitudinal folding forming part of the fibrous pericardium + part of the diaphragm
What is the system that the developing single arterial outflow and 2 ventral venous inputs pump into?
Aortic/pharyngeal arches
What does the heart grow into?
The pericardial cavity; becomes completely surrounded by it
What is the point of reflection?
Where the visceral pericardium folds back on itself + is continuous with the parietal pericardium
Does the heart have a mesentery?
It loses it early on in development
Dilations appear in the heart tube, from top to bottom what are these dilations called and what do they form?
- Aortic sac
- TA -> initial part of aorta + PT
- BC -> outflow region/tracts of both ventricles
- V -> ventricles
- Atria -> rough wall of atria
- SV -> smooth wall of right atria
- R + L horn of sinus -> vena cavae + coronary sinus respectively
How does the heart develop into left and right?
Septa grows out of endocardial cushion + forms to divide chambers + outflow tracts
Where do the pulmonary veins grow out of? What happens to them?
Grow out of LA + then branch
Proximal part gets absorbed into atrial wall making the smooth part so there is only 4 PVs
What vascular shunts exist in the embryonic heart?
RA -> LA (valve of foramen ovale)
PT -> aorta (DA)
= R -> L shunt
Why do vascular shunts exist in the embryonic heart?
To bypass the lungs as they are not fully developed so do not want to put all circulating volume through them
Why does heart tube folding occur?
Fixed positions of aortic arches + venous inputs so when heart starts to rapidly grow it will naturally fold
What occurs at day 22?
BC grows rapidly + moves infero-anteriorly + right