A&P II

So I thought I would write two blogs today, to make up for the last couple of weeks. I'm not even sure that is allowed, but I thought it was worth a try.

Moving onto the heart, which is a fascinating organ to me, especially since I studied psychology for so long, and up until the 1900's, psychologists thought that the heart was actually the commanding organ...crazy I know! But it is in direct connection to the ability for our body to function, without it, nothing else works...so I guess it makes sense why the elders thought this for so long. Still, with all that we know about the heart and the circulatory system, it's crazy that we don't know very much about the developing heart in utero.

It is unknown how blood in the embryo circulates for the first 21 days in the absence of a functioning heart, although some have hypothesized that the heart is not so much a pump, as a Hydraulic Ram -- an organ built-up from cumulative peripheral activity.

When the embryonic heart begins beating -- around 21 days after conception, the human heart begins beating at a rate near the mother’s, about 75-80 beats per minute (BPM). The embryonic heart rate then accelerates linearly for the first month of beating, peaking at 165-185 BPM during the early 7th week. After peaking at about 9.2 weeks, it decelerates to about 152 BPM during the 15th week. After the 15th week the deceleration slows reaching an average rate of about 145 BPM at birth. Little is known about why it changes, how it changes, and the effect of it's changes on the baby itself. The heart is vital however to the growth and development of the child, obviously, and as it is one of the first organs to develop and function, you would think that we would have better knowledge of it's formation, and thus it's malfunctions in the womb.

I know three women who have had still born babies in the last 5 years. All three of them were told that the deaths were a direct result of the baby's heart rate fluctuating and eventually stopping. Scientists should focus energy on this subject, as the death of a child, regardless of age, is something that no one should have to bare, but especially while it's still growing inside you.

On that happy note, I hope all of you are enjoying your holiday weekend. I will see you all on Tuesday! Aimee