MicroRNAs were discovered during experiments designed to learn how genes coordinate animal development. This chapter begins with the early studies that taught us the importance of microRNAs for mammalian development by studying what happened when key genes were deleted in mice. It ranges from studies that knocked out genes from the entire organism towards refined approaches that removed microRNAs at defined moments from specific tissues, including the heart and the visual system. A detailed review is taken of the genes that microRNAs regulate during brain development and their contribution to the diversity of cell types. These studies reveal the essential role for the microRNA system broadly, as well as how certain developmental events are more or less tolerant of disruption to the microRNA system. This chapter also reviews which microRNAs are the first to control gene activity after fertilisation and how environmental and parental experience can change microRNA activity. The chapter also includes explanations of the scientific toolkit needed to delete or deliver biogenesis components and microRNA genes, and how microRNAs have been used as tools in stem cell research.

In the first chapter I introduce some methodological issues pertaining to the history of mental health: on the one hand, the issue of anachronism, the problem of retrospective diagnosis, on the other, the importance of maintaining intelligibility across cultures. When it comes to the ancient world, there are specific problems related to the nature of medical sources in Greek and Latin, and our limited access to the medical practices underlying them; in addition, the genre 'biography of disease' has its own pitfalls, namely those of attributing ‘essence’ to what appears, prima facie, to be most of all a construct: a disease concept or label such as phrenitis. Finally, in this chapter I consider the label phrenitis, its etymological meanings and the implications of the name vis-à-vis localization (chest? lungs? diaphragm? heart?) and mental life (mind? character? soul? mental capacities?). I also discuss the ‘Homeric’ appeal of the phrēn/phrenes, the name of the body part from which the label originates. The poetic archaism of phrēn/phrenes combined with its medical use made it both understandable as a generic term for mental life and specifically a ‘medical’ term to indicate the diaphragm, and contributed to making phrenitis a long-lasting disease concept.

• Valvular diseases are classified either as obstructing outflow (i.e., stenosis) or inadequately closing/coapting (i.e., regurgitation). Many mild–moderate valve lesions exist in a compensated or well-tolerated state; the tenets of hemodynamic management become particularly important in the severe or acute setting.

Discussion of effects sex can have on different aspects of health including cardiovascular, pain perception, and brain health. Special issues between sex and situations such as pregnancy, diabetes, and heart disease. Tips for addressing worries about physical health and sex, including supporting one’s partner.

This chapter analyzes the sermon given by Francisco de la Concepción Barbosa (1729) in the funeral rites for the heart of Baltasar de Zuñiga, marquis of Valero (1658-1727) and Viceroy of New Spain from 1716 to 1722. Once he returned to Spain, he arranged that, after his death, his heart would be embalmed and buried in the high altar of the Corpus Christi Franciscan convent for the Indian Cacicasthat he founded in Mexico in 1719 and was authorized by Luis I in 1724. It studies two aspects of the colonial discourse of the funeral for the heart: (a) its symbolic and emblematic context, as an imaginary relic that aspires to immortality beyond the corruption and fragmentation of the body; and (b) its historical context, in connection to the case of Bishop Fernandez de Santa Cruz, who also donated his heart to the convent of Santa Monica in Puebla (1699).

Here we uncover the mysteries of the baby as it develops in the womb, discussing how fetal development is controlled. We give insights into aspects of pregnancy not widely known, from the fetus starting to breathe months before it is born, to the question of whether it sleeps – and dreams. We discuss the ways in which information about the mother’s life and her environment affect the baby’s development. Although birth may seem the first major milestone for a baby, we emphasise that many other milestones have been passed before that, inside the womb, out of sight but over which parents can have substantial influence. We give insights into new discoveries about how the organs of the fetal body develop in prediction of the world in which that individual ‘expects’ to live, and what happens when the prediction turns out to be wrong. The idea that the fetus is preparing for life after birth will get the reader thinking about the long-term consequences of the way a fetus develops. Each of us is unique as a result of our development – and nobody is perfect. Our unique development starts from the moment of conception, which introduces the next chapter on sex.

A critical component of the theory of the multiple reserves is that the health of the body is good for the health of the brain. The brain is dependent on all other body parts for maintenance of its functions. This dependence upon other bodily functions is especially prominent in older persons, because of their lower reserve capacities. Research has shown that intensive blood pressure control is more effective than standard blood pressure control in reducing the risk of cognitive impairment. It is certainly true that "what is good for the heart is good for the brain.” It is valuable to have the best possible heart, lung, kidney, liver, and endocrine function. Diabetes increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease as well as small and large strokes. Avoidance of obesity and physical exercise can lower the risk of diabetes. A high-fiber diet can improve insulin responsiveness and diminish the severity of diabetes. The recommendations in this book are good for the health of the heart, lungs and other organs as well as directly beneficial to the nervous system. Good systemic health means good physical reserve. Good physical reserve helps to maintain healthy brain function throughout life.

The ECG is a non-invasive representation of the activity of the cardiac electrical conducting system. ECGs are widely available in all hospitals and therefore interpretation is of great importance. ECGs allow assessment of cardiac rate, recognition of conduction blocks, myocardial ischaemia, life-threatening arrhythmias, and the effects of drugs. Therefore ECGs provide a wealth of information allowing safe and appropriate treatment strategies for patients. This chapter summarises the most salient features of common arrhythmias seen in clinical practice.

This chapter provides a detailed overview of the cardiovascular system in the context of perioperative care. The cardiovascular system is responsible for the delivery of oxygen around the body and the return of this blood to the heart. This blood is then pumped to the lungs and back to the heart. The systemic and pulmonary circulations have a number of important differences between them. The heart beats repeatedly in a process known as the cardiac cycle, which has two distinct phases, systole, and diastole. The conduction system of the heart allows for the chambers of the heart to contract in a well-coordinated manner. Problems with the cardiovascular system occur frequently under anaesthesia and can have numerous causes, some of which are explored in this chapter.

Telemann’s numerous compositions for the Christmas season reflect important changes in the understanding and celebration of the feast day throughout his prolific career. The early Christmas cantatas are influenced by an understanding of the feast that combined Lutheran mysticism with a language emphasizing the personal relationship between Christ and the believer through the physical/corporeal as well as emotional concepts: love, heart, desire, and so on. Telemann transferred this language to musical compositions featuring highly emotional melodic lines, often employing musical topi (such as sigh figures) that were familiar from pietist songs and operatic love arias. In his later works, especially in the cantata Die Hirten bei der Krippe to a text by Ramler, the focus shifts from personal emotionality to a divine encounter in nature. The pastoral sphere, influenced by the physico-theology of the time, replaces love arias from the earlier works. This chapter traces developments both in Telemann’s music and in theological discourse around the middle of the eighteenth century. It is not the understanding of Christmas that changes but rather the communicative function of emotion and affect both transforms and shifts throughout Telemann’s lifetime.

Axons of postganglionic neurons branch many times close to their effector cells and have hundreds to thousands of varicosities, which contain transmitter(s) packed in vesicles. Excitation of the postganglionic neurons spreads over all its branches and invades all varicosities. Signal transmission from postganglionic neurons to most effector cells occurs through specific neuroeffector synapses. In the heart, acetylcholine released by parasympathetic cardiomotor axons reacts with junctional muscarinic receptors that are coupled via a intracellular second-messenger pathway to the cellular effectors. Arterioles and small arteries are influenced by neural release of noradrenaline and ATP from the varicosities of the vasoconstrictor axons. The ATP reacts with junctional purinoceptors and opens ligand-gated cation channels, which cause activation of voltage-sensitive calcium channels and resultant action potentials. Noradrenaline released from the postganglionic vasoconstrictor terminals reacts with junctionally and extrajunctionally located a-adrenoceptors leading to slow depolarization in some blood vessels. The influence exerted by autonomic neurons on their effector tissues may be modulated by local and remote non-neural signals. The mechanisms of neuroeffector transmission in different autonomic targets are diverse. As no exceptions have yet been found, it is not far-fetched to assume that neuroeffector transmission is specific for all target cells innervated by postganglionic neurons.

William Harvey’s demonstration of the circulation of the blood is one of the Scientific Revolution’s most influential and lasting achievements. But in spite of Harvey’s innovation, and paradoxically given the extent to which he came to be represented as a founder of modern science, he tied himself to ancient authorities and sought to insulate natural philosophy and the art of medicine from the new mechanical-corpuscular and chemical philosophies of the period. The reception of Harvey’s work, both in physiology and later in embryology, shows that Harvey’s research program won numerous early converts, who used his program for their own ends, including support for the new philosophies, in the cases of René Descartes and Robert Boyle. Untethered from his preferred Scholastic framework, Harvey’s conceptual foundations, techniques, and conclusions led to new discoveries, and unresolved questions in Harvey’s account about the movement of the heart, nature of the blood, and respiration would motivate intense inquiry. The circulation of the blood and later physiology therefore provide an essential perspective for the examination of early modern disputes about experimentation and its limits, the rhetoric of novelty, the unity of nature, and the very notion of life.