Abstract
Summary
Rabbit embryos, removed during the ninth day of gestation, were cultured in hanging drops. Studies of the heart show that the 2 primitive lateral heart tubes beat regularly for some hours before they fuse to form one heart. There are marked differences between the 2 sides both morphologically and physiologically. The hearts develop considerably before fusing, as evidenced by the movement of cellular elements within the vessels. At early stages the contractions involve only the ventricles, but before fusion to form a single heart the impulses may be seen to originate in the respective atria.
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