Today, I want to dive into the heart of the matter—I should say, the matter of hearts.
The heart is amazing!
The real Mccoy looks nothing like a Valentine.
We’ve claimed and heard others assert that someone has no heart or is heartless. No matter how fervently avowed, such statements aren’t taken or meant literally.
Of course, the person has a heart!
It’s not amazing that humans have hearts; everyone gets one, at most. No one can live without one or something that acts like a heart.
One heart is sufficient for humans, whether they are compassionate or hard-hearted, but some animals need and have more than one heart.
Having two or more hearts isn’t an extraterrestrial phenomenon and isn’t as freakish as it sounds.
Octopuses are among the animals with more than one heart. They, along with squids, have three hearts. The central heart carries blood through their circulatory systems, and two external hearts carry oxygen-filled blood to their gills.
With eight arms, large heads, blue blood, and three hearts, octopuses are the stuff for horror movies.
Horses may not have the octopus’ star power and appeal, but they have one heart and four heart-like structures. One heart-like structure is located in each of the feet.
The heart-like agents are called frogs. The frog, a specialized organ at the bottom of each foot, maintains a blood supply. When the horse’s feet contact the ground, the frog pumps the blood to the arteries. The frogs are critical for the horse’s circulatory system. Four frogs plus one heart equals health and survival for the horses.
If the horse has anything to say about it, that’s five hearts. The four frogs work In conjunction with the real Mccoy.
If the information about octopuses, squids, or horses doesn’t sound weird, the following things about the heart probably won’t shock you.
The heart is a self-contained, self-serving power system. Amazingly, the heart generates its own electrical power and impulses. These impulses create the lub and dub sounds of a healthy heart.
We are like the bunny without the Ever-Ready battery if the heart isn’t charged. When the heartbeats stop, all bodily functions will stop or fail.
The heartbeats per minute (BPM) varies with the kind of animal. The Etruscan shrew, one of the smallest mammals, has a heart that can beat 1,500 times per minute.
How amazing is this!
The heart varies in size relative to the animal.
The fairyfly, a parasitic wasp, wins the honor of having the smallest heart. The wasp is 0.5 to 1.0 millimeters long. They aren’t visible to the naked eye and are among the smallest living creatures in the world. The fairy fly may be small, but they perform a colossal function in our ecosystem.
Fairy flies are a natural pest control for various agricultural pests harmful to crops. Farmers are happy to have the larger-than-Tinker Bell wasps on their side.
What animal has the largest heart?
Let’s applaud the whales; they have the largest heart of all mammals.
Whether it’s the earthworm with five heart-like structures or the cockroach with 13, the heart and other circulatory agents are amazing!
Everything about life is a matter of the heart and its supporting systems!
Be well.