Development of the Heart Flashcards
What is vasculogenesis?
Making a blood vessel from scratch
What is involved in vasculogenesis?
Differentiation of precursor cells into endothelial cells and the de novo formation of a primitive vascular network
What is angiogenesis?
The growth of new capillaries from pre-existing blood vessels
In which week of development does formation of the heart begin?
When is the first contraction of the heart?
week 3
The first contraction occurs on day 22
The heart starts to beat as soon as it develops
In how many live births do congenital heart defects occur?
5-8 in 1,000 live births
What are the three concentric layers of the heart?
What do they develop from?
- Epicardium
- Myocardium
- Endocardium
They develop from the primary or secondary heart field
What layer of the heart is the epicardium?
What else does it form and what is it derived from?
It is the outer layer of the heart
It is also the visceral (inner) layer of the pericardium
It is derived from visceral mesoderm
What layer of the heart is the myocardium and what is it derived from?
It is the middle layer of the heart
It is derived from the visceral mesoderm overlying the heart tube
What is the endocardium derived from?
What is different from the other layers of the heart?
It is derived from the heart tube
It is not specialised do blood cells do not stick to it
If they do, this leads to clots
What is the pericardium and what are its 2 layers?
It is the sac in which the heart sits
The outer layer is the parietal pericardium
The inner layer sits on the heart and is the visceral pericardium (epicardium)
In the first stage of vasculogenesis, what is the role of the endoderm?
The endoderm induces some cells of the overlying splanchnic mesoderm to differentiate into angioblasts
What are angiogenic cell clusters?
On what day do they form?
Specialised cell clusters that will form primary heart fields
They form on day 17
During vasculogenesis, what do the angioblasts differentiate into?
Endothelial cells and endocardial tubes
2 endocardial tubes form on day 18
What happens to the endocardial tubes during lateral folding?
The endocardial tubes fuse to form the primitive heart tube
After the primitive heart tube has formed, what does the mesoderm do?
The visceral mesoderm surrounding the primitive heart tube differentiates to form the myocardium
This is the heart muscle outside of the tube
After the myocardium has formed, what does it secrete?
What is the function of the secretion?
It secretes a thick layer of extracellular matrix called cardiac jelly
Cardiac jelly is acellular and important in septation of the heart
What is the role of craniocaudal folding in development of the heart?
It brings the developing heart tube into the thorax
During craniocaudal folding, where are the primary heart fields derived from?
What level is this at?
Derived from the primitive streak at the cranial end
This is at the level of the oropharyngeal membrane
What is formed from the 3 layers of the heart tube?
Endocardium - internal endothelial lining
Myocardium - muscular wall
Epicardium - covers outside of heart and is responsible for formation of coronary arteries
As the heart develops, when do the associated vessels develop?
The heart develops with the associated vessels at the same time
In the caudal region of a 4 week embryo, which vessels are present?
3 paired veins drain into the tubular heart via the right and left horn of the sinus venosus
What vessels are present in the cranial region of a 4-week old embryo?
The cranial region connects to 2 dorsal aortae
What is the first part of the heart tube?
What is the inflow and outflow to this region?
Sinus venosus
Arterial outflow is at the cranial end
Venous inflow is at the caudal end
With differential growth of the heart tube, which 5 dilatations become apparent?
- truncus arteriosus
- conus arteriosus
- ventricle
- atrium
- sinus venosus
What is the role of the sinus venosus after differential growth?
It is at the caudal end and it receives blood
What do the primitive atrium and ventricle go on to form?
What is different about their position in foetal anatomy?
They predominantly form their named structure
The atria are at the caudal end but this changes during cardiac looping
What is the bulbus cordis?
How does this change with time?
It is the common outflow tract at the cranial end
It consists of the truncus arteriosus and conus arteriosus
As cells are added, it is differentiated between 2 parts
What is the conus arteriosus and truncus arteriosus?
The truncus arteriosus is the outflow tract
The conus arteriosus is the region just before blood reaches the pulmonary valves
On which day does cardiac looping begin?
What is significant about the start of this process?
Day 23
The heart starts to fold in preparation for dividing into 4 chambers
During cardiac looping, how does the bulbus cordis move?
It moves caudally, ventrally and to the right
As it is a fixed tube, other parts of the tube begin to move with it
How does the primitive ventricle move during cardiac looping?
The primitive ventricle is displaced before moving back to the midline
The ventricle starts to swing round in a C-shaped loop
Which part of the heart tube is displaced the most during cardiac looping?
The sinus venosus
It swings round the most as it starts in the caudal region and moves towards the cranial region
How does the primitive atrium move during cardiac looping?
It displaces cranially and dorsally
How is the apex of the heart formed during cardiac looping?
It is formed by the ventricles at the end of cardiac looping