title: The heart: a symbol from ancient times to current biomedics.
abstract: The heart is an essential and central organ in human beings. The heart is a muscular pump which contracts approximately a hundred thousand times a day for a life time, and in the last few decades it has been scientifically documented that it also produces hormones. The symbolic role of the heart has been established from time immemorial; more recently, and intriguingly, modern biomedical evidence has proved that historical knowledge and common language expressions referring to the heart are, in many cases, correct. In this perspective it is interesting to consider that already in the remote past the heart was "at the heart" of the attention of great western and eastern civilizations. From the brief panorama presented in this paper, connections between popular historical knowledge and current biomedical evidence emerge, proving the relevance of the symbolic role of the heart and of its perceived functions from pre-Christian to contemporary times, and documenting how the heart continues to remain strategically central, and epistemologically and linguistically crucial in the physical, psychological and social context of human life.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Surgical Critical Care, University of Florence, Florence, Italy. andrea.conti@unifi.it
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Conti
mesh_terms: D006321:Heart; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D013561:Symbolism