Abstract

The heart provides the body with oxygen and nutrients. The vertebrate heart has evolved from a simple vessel with peristaltic movements to a four-chambered heart in birds and mammals. These anatomical changes were associated with a rise in the frequency of the heart beat and a rise in the rate at which blood is pumped around in the circulation. I will discuss this evolution in cardiac form and function and I will show how heart of fish and reptiles resemble cardiac malformations in humans.

Short bio

Professor Tobias Wang is a J.C. Skou senior fellow at AIAS. He is a comparative physiologist and studies how animals are adapted to extreme environments, and he is interested in the evolution of organ systems and their regulation.  He studies a variety of species, but has a particular interest in reptiles because they represent the extant ancestors of both birds and mammals and hence provide insight to the physiological changes required for the large rise in metabolism that attended the evolution of high body temperatures by endothermy.

Tobias Wang's project at AIAS

What is a Fellows' Seminar?

The AIAS Fellows' Seminar is a session of seminars held by the AIAS fellow or by other speakers proposed by the fellows. In each seminar, one fellow will present and discuss his/her current research and research project, closing off with a question and discussion session.

All seminars are held in English and open to the public. Registration to the seminar is not necessary.  Read more about the AIAS Fellows' Seminar here.