Abstract
The heart begins to beat in the chick at the 10-somite stage and circulates blood into embryonic and extraembryonic regions by the 16-somite stage, even though valves and separate chambers develop later. This paper is an attempt to quantify the larger size of the heart over other organs in the early embryo. H-H stage 10 to 28 chick embryos were dissected free of extraembryonic membranes and the hearts removed. Hearts and bodies were pooled by stage in units of 1-5, minced, aspirated into capillary tubes, sealed, and centrifuged at 50G for 5 min. Tissue volume was calculated as: Vol=length × φr2/embryo units. Our results indicate that although the heart >10% of body volume at stage 10 (40-44 hrs. incubation) this ratio drops to 2-3% by stage 28 (144 hrs incubation). We conclude that tissue volume measurements document relative growth of embryonic organ systems and show priority for heart growth in early development, with trend reversal at later stages.
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Rosenquist, G., Soprey, P. 1312 RELATIVE SIZE OF HEART AND BODY IN THE EARLY CHICK EMBRYO. Pediatr Res 19, 329 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198504000-01336
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198504000-01336