An Appreciation of Anatomy in the Molecular World.

Bjarke Jensen,Vincent M Christoffels,Antoon F M Moorman

doi:10.3390/jcdd7040044

Abstract

Robert H. Anderson is one of the most important and accomplished cardiac anatomists of the last decades, having made major contributions to our understanding of the anatomy of normal hearts and the pathologies of acquired and congenital heart diseases. While cardiac anatomy as a research discipline has become largely subservient to molecular biology, anatomists like Professor Anderson demonstrate anatomy has much to offer. Here, we provide cases of early anatomical insights on the heart that were rediscovered, and expanded on, by molecular techniques: migration of neural crest cells to the heart was deduced from histological observations (1908) and independently shown again with experimental interventions; pharyngeal mesoderm is added to the embryonic heart (1973) in what is now defined as the molecularly distinguishable second heart field; chambers develop from the heart tube as regional pouches in what is now considered the ballooning model by the molecular identification of regional differentiation and proliferation. The anatomical discovery of the conduction system by Purkinje, His, Tawara, Keith, and Flack is a special case because the main findings were never neglected in later molecular studies. Professor Anderson has successfully demonstrated that sound knowledge of anatomy is indispensable for proper understanding of cardiac development.

Highlights

Single cell sequencing of whole hearts of adults and embryos reveals a stunning complexity [1,2] that could not have been anticipated on the basis of the dominant disciplines of heart research of the 20th century, anatomy and electrophysiology
Problems in biology and medicine are addressed by an increasing diversity of tools and approaches as revealed by the interdisciplinarity of recent studies [4,5,6]
Concerning cardiac pathologies, the criteria for structural assessments of hypertrophy, wall thinning, excessive trabeculae, and much more have not changed much while imaging has undergone profound developments [7]. This testifies to the persistent role of anatomy in biomedical investigations of the heart

Summary

Introduction

Single cell sequencing of whole hearts of adults and embryos reveals a stunning complexity [1,2] that could not have been anticipated on the basis of the dominant disciplines of heart research of the 20th century, anatomy and electrophysiology. Concerning cardiac pathologies, the criteria for structural assessments of hypertrophy, wall thinning, excessive trabeculae, and much more have not changed much while imaging has undergone profound developments [7]. This testifies to the persistent role of anatomy in biomedical investigations of the heart. ErAiocropmarmtso[n21i,s2s2u].eAhacosmthmenoneimsseuregehdasotfhwenheemtheerrgtehde of whether the ‘splitting’ has become excessive and ‘lumping’ should be encouraged [23,24] In this regard anatomy and molecular biology has surely seen many instances of parallel evolution. ‘splitting’ has become excessive and ‘lumping’ should be encouraged [23,24]

Chamber Formation

Myocyte Orientation of the Compact Wall

Findings

The Special Case of the Cardiac Conduction System