Reading Time: 2 minutesFor this article, I was struggling as to whether I wanted to talk about the heart or the brain. There is so much detail that I can’t see how either one happened by chance. The brain has approximately 86 billion neurons in our brains, woven together by an estimated 100 trillion connections, or synapses. The heart, on the other hand, beats approximately 115,000 times a day and is connected to a blood vessel system that, if stretched out, would extend approximately 1,500 miles.
The heart is an organ, a muscle at the center of our circulatory system. It is the size of a fist, weighs less than a pound, and doesn’t take a break. This small muscle beats almost 42 million times a year. How is it possible for a muscle to not need a break? A good short run will have my muscles aching for days and yet the heart keeps going.
The Creation of the Heart
According to BabyCenter, L.L.C., the world’s number one digital parenting resource, a fetus doesn’t start with a heart. By the fourth week there is formed in the embryo a distinct blood vessel that will develop into a heart. In the fifth week two heart tubes form and fuse together. During the sixth and seventh weeks, the tubes bend and twist into an “S” shape. This is the beginning of the four chambers as walls begin to form and divide the heart into four chambers. In the eighth week the valves form.
Between the tenth and twelfth weeks, the brain begins to regulate the heartbeat, and you may be able to hear this heartbeat. The heart and the capillaries are forming and filling with blood.
One of the most amazing things occur at birth and with the baby’s first breath! Karen Miles of the BabyCenter writes,
The opening between the two atria (called the foramen ovale), closes when your baby is born and takes their first breath. This opening allowed blood to bypass your baby’s lungs, which weren’t necessary until your baby was born because blood from the placenta supplied oxygen until then. In most babies, the opening is completely sealed within a few months after birth.
How the Heart Functions Is No Accident!
Once started, the heart doesn’t stop until death. So many organs of the body can take a break or at least slow down, but the heart must function all the time. How can anyone believe that all this just happened by accident?
So many organs of the body can take a break or at least slow down, but the heart must function all the time. – Martin Cicero Click To TweetThe heart even has its own pacemaker called the “sinoatrial node,” which regulates the heartbeat until something happens, such as a race which requires extra oxygen for the muscles to be at their best. At this point the brain steps in and increases the heart rate.
The heart and the brain work together so that the body can function effectively. How is this possible? How does each know what to do and when to do it? Obviously, God did it!!
If you’re interested in learning more about God’s fine-tuned world, Artios Christian College is here to equip you!
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