Many extensible tissues such as skin, lungs, and blood vessels require elasticity to function
properly. The recoil of elastic energy stored during a stretching phase is provided by elastic …

The electrocardiogram (ECG) reveals that heart chamber activation and repolarization are
much faster in mammals and birds compared to ectothermic vertebrates of similar size …

This chapter covers morphological aspects of the fish heart. It starts with the recognition of
the existence of six heart components that are present during embryonic development, and …

Mammals and birds have a specialized cardiac atrioventricular conduction system enabling
rapid activation of both ventricles. This system may have evolved together with high heart …

How two-chambered hearts in basal vertebrates have evolved from single-chamber hearts
found in ancestral chordates remains unclear. Here, we show that the teleost sinus venosus …

Differences between hearts of crocodilians and those of mammals and birds are only partly
understood because there is no standardised approach and terminology for describing …

Mammals evolved from reptile-like ancestors, and while the mammalian heart is driven by a
distinct sinus node, a sinus node is not apparent in reptiles. We characterized the …

Embryonic, larval, and juvenile fish develop in environments that frequently present severe
challenges, not just to maintain homeostasis, but to survive. Key to survival is a functional …

Shox2 plays a vital role in the morphogenesis and physiological function of the sinoatrial
node (SAN), the primary cardiac pacemaker, manifested by the formation of a hypoplastic …

The definitive sinoatrial node (SAN), the primary pacemaker of the mammalian heart,
develops from part of pro-pacemaking embryonic venous pole that expresses both Hcn4 …