Cardiac muscle the walls of a house contain electrical wires and plumbing, cardiac muscle also contains specialised cells for conducting electrical signals rapidly (the cardiac conduction system), and blood vessels to bring nutrients to the muscle cells and take away waste products (the coronary arteries, veins and capillary network). Cardiac muscle cells or cardiomyocytes are the contracting cells which allow the heart to pump. Each cardiomyocyte needs to contract in coordination with its neighbouring cells to efficiently pump blood from the heart, and if this coordination breaks down then – despite individual cells contracting – the heart may not pump at all,
Great arteries of the aortic arch. The 5th pair of vessels only form in some cases without any known contribution to the final structure of the great arteries. The right 6th almost completely regresses with only the proximal part contributing to the base of the pulmonary arteries, while the left 6th forms the ductus arteriosus, which disappears after birth. Abnormalities in the development of the great arteries during embryonic development may lead to congenital cardiovascular defects, such as: Some of these defects can be asymptomatic and cause no complications in patients, with others being more severe and require immediate surgery right after