ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION The importance of the cardiovascular system is manifested by its early appearance in the embryo and its status as the first system to function. The adult heart is ventrally located in the center of the chest with its apex to the left side and its base facing the midline. The ventricles, which do most of the pumping, are located anteriorly, and the atria, which accept blood flow from the veins, are located posteriorly. It is important to understand the maturation and growth of these structures in three dimensions. The development of the cardiovascular system has been described in detail in textbooks of embryology (1-5) and developmental biology (6), as well as books devoted solely to cardiac development (7). The information in this chapter is summarized from those sources and, for the sake of brevity, is limited to the development of the heart and great vessels/aortic arches.
