@biomedicalephemera / biomedicalephemera.tumblr.com
Distribution of the "Primary Nerves” (early interpretations of the first offshoots of the central nervous system)
All bilaterally symmetric multicellular organisms have a Central Nervous System (the CNS or Cerebro-Spinal Nerves), even jellyfish.
Anatomia chirurgica. Antoine Petit & Jan Palfijn, 1758.
Bock-Steger,Leipzig, Anatomical model of the heart, ca. 1890
Liotta-Cooley Artificial Heart
On April 4, 1969, the first total artificial heart (not just a ventricular assist device) was implanted in Haskell Karp, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, in Houston, Texas. The heart, designed by Domingo Liotta, and implanted by Denton Cooley, was what’s known as a “bridge-to-transplantation” device, intended only to keep the patient alive long enough to have a suitable donor heart become available.
Mr. Karp survived 63 hours with the artificial heart, prior to a donor heart being located. Unfortunately, the transplant of the biological heart proved to be a poor alternative to a fairly-rudimentary artificial heart. Due to immuno-suppressive drugs, a massive acute pulmonary infection took hold, and he succumbed to complications 32 hours after the biological heart was transplanted. It was not until 1982 that the first longer-term (80-150 days) artificial hearts were successfully utilized.
The original prototype of the Liotta-Cooley heart now resides at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
Image from NMAH Exhibits.
Does the vascularity resulting from cardiovascular exercise increase the risk for metastasis of cancer?
While there are dozens of types of cancer, and I obviously am not a cancer doctor, all of the research I've come across says no, it doesn't, and during remission, it appears to help stave off recurrence, at least in breast cancers.
Angiogenesis related to aerobic exercise is induced by FGF-1, and is primarily of interest when it comes to treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease.
Cancerous tumor angiogenesis is most often induced by bFGF and VEGF, both of which are, as far as we know, unaffected by cardiovascular exertion or regular exercise.
Heart Inside Pericardial Sac
There are two layers to the pericardium: the outer fibrous pericardium, which is the tough tissue that protects the heart and anchors it in place, and the inner serous pericardium, which further cushions the heart against trauma and lubricates the area between the muscle and tough fibrous pericardium, so that no friction is formed while the heart pumps blood.
Atlas and Text-Book of Topographic and Applied Anatomy. Oskar Schultz and George D. Stewart, 1905.
LET'S GUT IT!
I know she has a new video for this year, but I feel obliged to bring this back around. Always my favorite valentine's day video.
Cross-section of human heart, displaying heart valves, chordae tendineae, and papillary muscles
Have you ever heard the expression “Tugging on your heart-strings”? Well, it’s not completely metaphorical, at least in terminology. There are literally parts of your heart known colloquially as “heart strings”, which have been described in an anatomical sense as far back as Vesalius.
These “heart strings” are more properly called chordae tendineae. You can see them in the illustration, looking like thin wires or netting within the ventricles. They start at the atrioventricular heart valves (the bicuspid or mitral and the tricuspid), and connect to the papillary muscles near the apex of the heart. The collagenous structure of these strings imparts to them a high level of strength, and the papillary muscles combined with some elastin give a high level of flexibility. they’re what keep your heart valves from everting (prolapsing) when the blood moves from the atria to the ventricles.
See, the valves have no muscular structure of their own, but work because the pressure of the blood pushing against them makes them open and close taut. But if the chordae tendineae weren’t there, that same pressure that makes sure they shut well also means that their fibrous structure would end up simply turning inside-out, and the blood would flow back into the atria, instead of to the lungs or the rest of the body. Insufficiency of the heart strings is one of many possible causes of mitral prolapse and valve insufficiency (leaky valves).
Anatomy: Descriptive and Surgical. Henry Gray, 1900.
Proper technique for removal of the heart from the body.
The heart should be grasped by inserting the index finger into the left ventricle, the thumb in the right ventricle, and grasping the ventricular septum. Raise the heart towards the chin, putting a stretch on the blood vessels. Cut vessels one-by-one in a circular direction, beginning with either the inferior vena cava or lower pulmonary vein.
Postmortem Pathology. Henry W. Cattell, 1906.
Cross-section of human heart, displaying heart valves, chordae tendineae, and papillary muscles
Have you ever heard the expression “Tugging on your heart-strings”? Well, it’s not completely metaphorical, at least in terminology. There are literally parts of your heart known colloquially as “heart strings”, which have been described in an anatomical sense as far back as Vesalius.
These “heart strings” are more properly called chordae tendineae. You can see them in the illustration, looking like thin wires or netting within the ventricles. They start at the atrioventricular heart valves (the bicuspid or mitral and the tricuspid), and connect to the papillary muscles near the apex of the heart. The collagenous structure of these strings imparts to them a high level of strength, and the papillary muscles combined with some elastin give a high level of flexibility. they’re what keep your heart valves from everting (prolapsing) when the blood moves from the atria to the ventricles.
See, the valves have no muscular structure of their own, but work because the pressure of the blood pushing against them makes them open and close taut. But if the chordae tendineae weren’t there, that same pressure that makes sure they shut well also means that their fibrous structure would end up simply turning inside-out, and the blood would flow back into the atria, instead of to the lungs or the rest of the body. Insufficiency of the heart strings is one of many possible causes of mitral prolapse and valve insufficiency (leaky valves).
Anatomy: Descriptive and Surgical. Henry Gray, 1900.
Splanchnology - The study or discourse of the viscera (guts) - Greek: Splanchn(o), "viscera".
Stomach (organ) - From Latin stomachus, "throat, gullet, stomach" [also "pride, indignation", since those emotions were believed to arise from the stomach]. Derived from Greek stomachos, "throat, stomach", literally an extension of stoma, "mouth, opening" Pertaining to the stomach - Gastr(o)-, Ventr(o)- Abdomen - "Belly fat", from Latin abdomen, meaning, well, what it does today. Ultimate origin of the word is unknown. Pertaining to the abdomen - Laparo-, Abdomin(o)-, Ventr(o)-
Digestion - From Latin dis-, "apart", gerere, "to carry", "to assimilate food in the bowels" Pertaining to digestion - -pepsia
Lungs - From Old English lungen, from Proto-Germanic *lungw-, literally "the light organ", legwh-, "not heavy, having little weight". Probably from the fact that lungs float when put in water (and other organs do not). Pertaining to the lungs - Pulmo-, Pneumo-
Liver - From Proto-Indo-European (PIE) *liep-, "to stick, adhere, fat" Pertaining to the liver - Hepat(o)-, Hepatic, Jecor- (uncommon)
Pancreas - From Greek pankreas, "sweetbread", from pan-, "all", and -kreas, "flesh", presumably from the fleshy, uniform nature of the pancreas. Pertaining to the pancreas - Pancrea-
Kidney - From Middle English kidenere, origin unknown. Possibly from cwið , "womb", and ey, "egg", for its shape. Pertaining to the kidney - Nephro-, Ren(o)-
Intestines - From the Latin intestina, "inward, intestine", from intus, "within, on the inside". [Old English for the organ was hropp, "rope"] Pertaining to the intestines - [Small intestine] Enter(o)-, Duoden-, Jejeun(o)- [Large intestine/Colon] Col(o)-, Sigmoid-
Spleen - From Greek splen, "the milt, spleen". From PIE *splegh-, "milt" [Note: "Milt" - fish sperm - got its name from the Proto-Germanic name for spleen, but the word once meant "guts" in general] Pertaining to the spleen - Splen(o)-
Gall bladder - Gall from Old English galla, "gall, bile", from PIE root *ghel- "yellowish green, gold". Bladder origin the same as urinary bladder. Pertaining to the gall bladder - Cholecysto-, [Bile] Chol(e)-
Bladder - From Old English bledre, "urinary bladder, cystic pimple", from PIE root *bhle-, "to blow" [same root as "blast"!] Pertaining to the bladder - Vesic(o)-, Cyst(o)-
Rheumatic heart disease (Rheumatic endocarditis)
A hundred years ago, before we had access to effective antibiotics or preventative care, strep throat (streptococcal pharyngitis), scarlet fever, and other manifestations of Streptococcus pyogenes infection often led to death; sometimes that death was months or years after "recovery" from the disease, but it was directly caused by the reaction of the body's immune system to the bacterial infection.
Untreated Streptococcus infections can lead to an autoimmune cross-reaction to the body's own tissues. One of these autoimmune responses is rheumatic fever. In this condition, the heart and joints are attacked, causing them to grow vegetations (see the opened heart above) which impede blood flow and free movement of the large joints. Rheumatic fever also causes what's known as "St. Vitus' Dance" (chorea minor), which causes uncontrolled movements and muscle twitching, which can further impair quality-of-life and productivity.
While rheumatic fever is rare in the developed world (and almost always caught early when it does occur), it's still painfully common in places like South-East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. People (largely children) who develop it often don't know until symptoms begin to seriously manifest themselves, when the growths have reached a point where they have the potential to soon completely block the heart valves. At this point, the only cure for the patient is open-heart surgery - something that's incredibly hard to come by in the developing world. Over 300,000 people still die of this condition every year.
Keif Davidson recently released an Academy Award-nominated short documentary called "Open Heart", following eight Rwandan children to the Salam Center in Northern Sudan. This well-built and impressively staffed charitable hospital is run by Emergency, an Italian NGO. For the children that can get there, open-heart surgery and all follow-up visits are provided for free. It's an impressive and touching film, and the passion of the filmmaker and of the surgeons is hard to ignore.
If Streptococcal infections are treated, rheumatic fever almost never develops. But if it does, early treatment can mean that those afflicted with the condition can live happy and productive lives, and may never develop the life-threatening heart conditions associated with it. There are currently efforts to disseminate antibiotic availability for Streptococcal infections, and a mobile team is now being organized to screen for early rheumatic fever in the field. Prevention and early treatment is much cheaper for everyone, and hopefully both of these efforts will be successful in decreasing the number of people who must trek far from home for any chance at all of treatment.
Illustration: Researches on Rheumatism. F.J. Poynton and Alexander Paine, 1914.
Poster: "Open Heart" Film. Directed by Keif Davidson, in Association with Stories Of Change A Project Of and supported by the Skoll Foundation. 2013.
Valves of the Heart, Cardiac Skeleton, and Connective Tissue of Heart
The “skeleton” of the heart is, of course, not made of bone. Between the atria and the ventricles, a layer of thick connective tissues surrounds the valves of the heart, and provides an attachment point for the connective tissue that keeps the heart from over-expanding. The chordae tendineae also use the cardiac skeleton as one of their primary attachment points.
Traité complet de l’anatomie de l’homme comprenant la medecine operatoire, par le docteur Marc Jean Bourgery. Illustration by Nicolas Henri Jacob, 1831.
Posterior view of arteries and veins of the heart and lungs
The coronary sinus is clearly visible, as the largest vein on the body of the heart. "Coronary" means "crown", so if one thinks of the heart as a head, anything labeled "coronary" likely goes around it in a somewhat-encircling fashion.
The anterior cardiac veins drain directly into the right atrium, but the majority of the other cardiac veins (excluding some of the smallest), including the great cardiac vein, drain into the coronary sinus. The junction between the right atrium and the coronary sinus is marked by the Thesbian valve.
Traité complet de l’anatomie de l’homme comprenant la medecine operatoire, par le docteur Marc Jean Bourgery. Illustration by Nicolas Henri Jacob, 1831.
I've learned about the coronary artery and seen it and diagrams and things...but is there such thing as a coronary vein? I've never heard of one. If not, how does blood get back into the heart? Thanks
*skee!* I love questions like this...you know, ones that I can actually answer well and give diagrams for and that force me to rack my brain for old anatomy/biology/zoology information.
ANYWAY. There are coronary veins (when referred to as a set, at least), but the major ones are the coronary sinus and the great cardiac vein, which both empty into the right atrium of the heart, like most deoxygenated blood does. However, the little veins known as the smallest coronary veins (imaginative, I know) will drain directly into any chamber of the heart. The blood from these veins is not significant enough to warrant necessary reoxygenation, and some of the smallest coronary veins are scarcely larger than capillaries.
Cross-section of human heart, displaying heart valves, chordae tendineae, and papillary muscles
Have you ever heard the expression "Tugging on your heart-strings"? Well, it's not completely metaphorical, at least in terminology. There are literally parts of your heart known colloquially as "heart strings", which have been described in an anatomical sense as far back as Vesalius.
These "heart strings" are more properly called chordae tendineae. You can see them in the illustration, looking like thin wires or netting within the ventricles. They start at the atrioventricular heart valves (the bicuspid or mitral and the tricuspid), and connect to the papillary muscles near the apex of the heart. The collagenous structure of these strings imparts to them a high level of strength, and the papillary muscles combined with some elastin give a high level of flexibility. they're what keep your heart valves from everting (prolapsing) when the blood moves from the atria to the ventricles.
See, the valves have no muscular structure of their own, but work because the pressure of the blood pushing against them makes them open and close taut. But if the chordae tendineae weren't there, that same pressure that makes sure they shut well also means that their fibrous structure would end up simply turning inside-out, and the blood would flow back into the atria, instead of to the lungs or the rest of the body. Insufficiency of the heart strings is one of many possible causes of mitral prolapse and valve insufficiency (leaky valves).
Anatomy: Descriptive and Surgical. Henry Gray, 1900.
Liotta-Cooley Artificial Heart
On April 4, 1969, the first total artificial heart (not just a ventricular assist device) was implanted in Haskell Karp, at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, in Houston, Texas. The heart, designed by Domingo Liotta, and implanted by Denton Cooley, was what's known as a "bridge-to-transplantation" device, intended only to keep the patient alive long enough to have a suitable donor heart become available.
Mr. Karp survived 63 hours with the artificial heart, prior to a donor heart being located. Unfortunately, the transplant of the biological heart proved to be a poor alternative to a fairly-rudimentary artificial heart. Due to immuno-suppressive drugs, a massive acute pulmonary infection took hold, and he succumbed to complications 32 hours after the biological heart was transplanted. It was not until 1982 that the first longer-term (80-150 days) artificial hearts were successfully utilized.
The original prototype of the Liotta-Cooley heart now resides at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
Image from NMAH Exhibits.
Bothrops jararaca - Jararaca or Yararaca
This is just one of the many pit vipers that inhabit South America. It is currently particularly prevalent in Argentina and Paraguay, though it was historically mostly found in Brazil - this may be a result of more people living in the Paraguayan and Argentinian territories than Brazilian, however.
This is a significant species of pit viper primarily for its venom being the source of several base peptides used in ACE inhibitors, used for congestive heart failure cases. Though its bites cause death only ~1% of the time, these snakes are considered dangerous as they are very prevalent, and cause death years after the bite more frequently than other snakes. Their hemotoxic venom affects the heart and vessels in such a way that they are sometimes unable to deal with the stresses of aging.
Bilder-atlas zur wissenschaftlich popularen. Leopold Fitzinger, 1867.
Here's a real jararaca! :D
