title: Cardiac embryology.
abstract: The cardiovascular system is the first major organ system to develop in the embryo, being fully formed and functioning by the eighth week of gestation. This early, rapid development may explain the prevalence of congenital heart disease. Infants with congenital heart disease require considerable nursing skill and an understanding of the particular diagnosis. Nurses who understand basic cardiac embryology will better understand the various defects, how they occur, and how they affect cardiac physiology and functioning. This article discusses development of the heart and major vessels arising from the heart and relates stages of development to corresponding congenital heart defects.
authors.affiliation: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center, Denver, CO 80218, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Witt
mesh_terms: D006321:Heart / Q000196:embryology*; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000196:embryology* / Q000451:nursing; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D017283:Neonatal Nursing