Where is an alligators heart

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Article Navigation. This site. Google Scholar. Author and article information. Accepted: 27 Feb Online Issn: J Exp Biol 1 : — Article history Accepted:. Cite Icon Cite. This content is only available via PDF. The physicists from Georgia Tech collaborated with two biologists on the study, including former Georgia Tech postdoctoral fellow Henry Astley, now assistant professor in the Biomimicry Research and Innovation Center at the University of Akron's Department of Biology.

I had not expected the rabbit heart to come apart at the seams as easily as it did," noted Astley. Lower temperatures are one cause of cardiac electrophysiological arrhythmias, where fast-rotating electrical waves can cause the heart to beat faster and faster, leading to compromised cardiac function and potentially sudden cardiac death. Lowering the temperature of the body -- frequently done for patients before certain surgeries -- also can induce an arrhythmia.

The researchers agree that this study could help better understand how the heart works and what can cause a deadly arrhythmia -- which fundamentally happens when the heart doesn't pump blood correctly any longer. The authors also consider the research a promising step toward better understanding of heart electrophysiology and how to help minimize fibrillation risk. Until December , when Covid took the top spot, heart disease was the leading cause of death in the United States and in most industrialized countries, with more people dying of heart disease than the next two causes of death combined.

Astley said the research provides a deeper understanding of the natural world and insight into the different coping mechanisms of cold- and warm-blooded animals. Co-author Tomasz Owerkowicz, associate professor in the Department of Biology at California State University, San Bernardino, considers the findings "another piece of the puzzle that helps us realize how really cool non-human animals are and how many different tricks they have up their sleeves.

He expressed hope that more researchers will follow their example and use a non-traditional animal model in future research. There's such a huge wealth of resources among the wild animals that have not been brought to the laboratory setting that have such neat physiologies, that are waiting to be uncovered. All we have to do is look," he said. Materials provided by Georgia Institute of Technology. Original written by Anne Wainscott-Sargent.

One side of the heart sends blood that is full of oxygen out to most of the body. The other side pulls blood back toward the lungs to give it an oxygen refill. The extra valve is a flap that the animal can close in order to keep blood from flowing toward the lungs. This means that the blood goes right back into the body instead. Some scientists thought that it might help crocodiles and alligators stay underwater longer, making them better, more deadly hunters.

By studying captive alligators, scientists discovered that the extra valve can reroute some of the blood normally pumped to its lungs to its stomach instead.

This diversion lasts about the same amount of time that it takes an alligator to digest a big meal.