title: History of cardiac anatomy: a comprehensive review from the Egyptians to today.
abstract: The nature, function, and anatomy of the heart have been extensively studied since 3500 B.C. Greek and Egyptian science developed a basic understanding of the heart, although this was primarily related to religious beliefs. During the Hippocratic era, Hippocrates and his colleagues developed a more scientific and less religious understanding of the cardiovascular system. The post-Hippocratic era was characterized by more advanced descriptions of the location, structure, and function of the heart. The Alexandrian, Roman, Medieval Islamic, and European eras included turning points in the history of cardiac anatomy. Subsequently, after the structure and function of the heart were established, its connection with the lungs was investigated. Description of the pulmonary circulation was followed by the discovery of the conductive system and innervation of the heart.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, St George's University, Grenada, West Indies.
authors.forename: Marios
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Loukas
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, St George's University, Grenada, West Indies.
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Youssef
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Varmia and Mazuria Medical School, Olsztyn, Poland.
authors.forename: Jerzy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gielecki
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Jagelonian University Medical School, Krakow, Poland.
authors.forename: Jerzy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Walocha
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Kostantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Natsis
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, St George's University, Grenada, West Indies.|Seattle Science Foundation, Seattle, Washington.
authors.forename: R Shane
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Tubbs
mesh_terms: D000715:Anatomy / Q000266:history*; D006321:Heart / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D049668:History, 15th Century; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans
keywords: cardiac anatomy; cardiac history; heart