The Heart ♥
Published by Haseeb December 9th, 2005 in Science/Medicine
So today, in our last anatomy lab of the year (2005, not academic year), we dissected the human heart. Its amazing how desensitized we have become in terms of dissecting the body in general after 3+ months of gross anatomy lab. Today was by far the coolest lab of the year (the brain dissection being a close second).
So after removing the sternum, and cutting the aorta, pulmonary vein and artery, and vena cavas, we finally removed the human heart from the body today. It was amazing to think that this little organ, weighing only about 1/4 of a kg, is responsible for keeping you alive. This organ, pumps automatically about 100,000 times a day, pumping two gallons of blood per minute, 100 gallons per hour, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year for an entire lifetime! Moreover, the vascular system, where the blood travels, is over 60,000 miles long: it is more than two times the circumference of the earth. And its functioning determines our every breath, and once it stops beating, so does our life. All due to this little organ…
Again, i want to reiterate that the heart beats independently of any nervous system control. The cardiac rythm and cardiac cycle is completely automatical, and actually begins to beat before the brain is formed. I’m sure we’ll learn in a development lecutre how this physically occurs, but we really know that this is really initiated with Allah 
’s divine breath being inspired into us in our mother’s wombs as part of our fitrah.
’s divine breath being inspired into us in our mother’s wombs as part of our fitrah. According to Islamic, Chinese, and most eastern traditions, the heart is considered the center of consciousness and awareness. In the spiritual heart, lies one’s soul, and is the true source of knowledge. The physical heart and spiritual heart are both quite analagous in terms of the effects they have one one’s whole soul, and whole body, respectively. Just as malnourishing the heart with poor health and diet, can easily damage one’s physical heart, ultimately leading to heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, and even death; the effects of malnourishing one’s spiritual heart can lead to diseases of the heart as well, affecting one’s mood, self-awareness, attitude, and God-consciousness. And unfortunately, just as the physical heart suffers when one has reached a state of physical heart failure, which has its own physical signs; the spiritual heart too suffers with its diseases which do leave a spiritual staining on the heart. Both stained/damaged hearts are very hard to purify and clean, and it takes struggle and a sincere change in lifestyle and habits to recover from heart failure of both the physical and spiritual heart.
Now to get back to my dissection, I got to hold this physical heart in my hand today, and we dissected it intenally as well. Subhanallah its so amazing how precise and powerful this little organ is. And even more amazing is the level of technology science and medicine has brought us to today. How open heart surgery is such a common and safe procedure nowadays, with us being able to clean arteries and replacing valves with such precision today. Our little dissection of a dead heart was sloppy enough as it is. Its so amazing where modern medicine is currently headed and I continue to be amazed at what I learn. Subhanallah indeed!
Amazing the heart is not just something we use to live off but really it is a feeling we got inside of us its either you got it pure or a black heart subhunllah
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subhanallah!! did you also know that the heart continues to beat when all of its connections to the brain are severed (like during a heart transplant)??so amazing.All praise is due to Allah
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i dont get it, you know all those doctors and surgeons who study the human body and all that it contains, do they not ever wonder or think about the existence of a Creator…?are they deaf, dumb and blind?
cool pic of the heart btw.
i would recommend Hamza Yusuf’s book “purification of the heart” to anyone, its fantabulous
Subhanallah indeed. that was a wonderful read hasseb. and you’r so right about the eastern thoughts centered around the heart. a good heart physically and spritually will inshallah lead you to prosperity in this life and the next… cant say more than that as my feelings basically echo yours haseeb. best wishes in your studies. inshallah you will make a fine doctor.
Levine showed us this hot way of always orienting the heart so you dont get mixed up
you hold it in your left hand with your index finger through the inferior vena cava and out the superior vena cava. That position in your hand is exactly how it sits in your chest
Oh, just another easy pointer, the apex of the heart is on your left. make it “sit” on your diaphragm, so that the SVC and IVC are vertically aligned on each other…another good way…
. He is the One who can give and take. Hence, it was ever so much nicer reading your post now.
wait, u guys are doing the heart now, eh? wonder how your anatomy course is broken up then…we finish up anatomy in this phase itself. and gosh, that’s a LOT of stuff to remember. sigh.
Anyways, about the miracle of the heart, it’s funny how you bring this up. First off, mashAllah for still retaining that sense of wonder and faith in the life sciences. So many of us tend to forget about the miracles of it, and pore so deeply into the physio. and path. I was thinking about it myself a few days ago about how at the end of it all, everything comes down to Allah
Anyways, good luck on finals guys. Salams.
LOL 2005 NBA finals was similar to this post
i dont choose the posts, a wordpress plugin automatically chooses those links.
Very nice post masha Allah
. That’s one of the things that we need to keep in mind as we study medicine - or anything for that matter - that all of this goes back to Allah 
azza wa jal. The system may teach to us in a manner that deliberatley removes God from the picture, but that’s just due to their own unfortunate history. It’s up to us as Muslims for our own sake, to see these things as they are in reality - as signs of God. Eventually of course we also want to show everyone around us how beautiful and simple it is to combine the discoveries that result from the precision of modern science with the marvel of God’s work - and ultimately learn more about Allah 
(swt) and draw closer to Him by studying His signs in depth! One’s every day experience becomes infused with the sacred, with the greatest meaning of all… subhanAllah - may Allah 
(swt) bless us all with such a state - AMEEN!
That’s the beauty of this deen - it is the most perfect way that humans have to combine the realities of every day life with the highest ideals - in an amazingly balanced and appropriate way!
Salams all.
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Hi, I am working with Dr. Rebecca Richards-Kortum of Rice University. We would like to request permission to use this figure in an academic textbook under the provisional title of “Bioengineering for World Health.” We would also like to include the image in an electronic version of the book. The electronic version would be available on line at several places including in the course site at Rice under password-protection and through Connexions (www.cnx.org) which works under Creative Commons Licensing.