At an unknown instant, probably 21 days after conception, a few cells of what will eventually become a human heart suddenly begin to contract.
At first there is only a feeble twitching which doesn't produce any circulation of the blood.
Then the contractions are carried like a wave to other parts of the heart.
In a few hours enough muscular power is developed to pump the blood to all parts of the embryo,
This is the first crucial point of human development. Whether the embryo survives or not is determined at this time.
Knowledge of this early heart function might save a great number of human embryos and could provide the key to many a problem in heart disease.
VALUABLE CLUES
In an anatomy lab at the LSU school of medicine, a slight, Mr. Chips-like professor is providing some valuable clues in this uncharted field of early heart development
Since human embryos at such an early period of development are almost never available for study, Dr. Charles M. Goss is doing his work on rat embryos.
Dr. Goss, who got his MD from Yale 24 years ago and came to LSU in 1946, is managing editor of the Anatomical Record, a periodical for anatomists, and last year turned out the 25th edition of that venerable medical work, Gray's Anatomy. He is head of LSU's anatomy department.
