Why is the human heart on the left side?

[Unsickle]

This an extra credit problem what will be on my Materials Science final. It's a course on symmetry and crystallography.

Any thoughts?

 

[AlphaIVT]

when we're inside our mother's stomach, we tend to lay to our left side the most, therefore the heart shifts over there. Its been like that for a long time.

 

[zippy]

Be very philosophical and say, "Because it is not on the right side."

🙂

 

[kicken14]

Who knows...Only GOD =>

 

[Farbio]

its really not on the left side, but is actually just about behind the sternum. it is just slightly to the left side of that though, so that is why most people say it is to the left....as far as why that is, its due to the lungs. your left lung has 2 lobes while your right lung has 3, so the left lung is about 2/3 the size of the right lung, to make room for the heart to sit over it and kind of push it further out to the side of the body. hope that helps

 

[prodigy]

"we're inside our mother's stomach"

You were inside your mother's stomach? :Q

 

[Farbio]

and please stfu alpha, we really don't care to hear your attempts at humor or knowledge

 

[classy]

Ask God.

 

[Zucchini]

my god you must be horribly disfigured from the acid🙂

 

[zippy]

I was in my mommy's womb, not her stomach!

"Baby; the other, other white meat!" -the fat guy in Austin Powers2

 

[piku]

<< when we're inside our mother's stomach >>



That explains everything.

 

[AlphaIVT]

ah, you people have no knowledge 🙁 Farbio, thats BS, I've got the answer, and thats not it.

 

[sweetrobin]

Actually the reason why babies tend to lay on their left side is because their mommies lay on their left side ... was reading the other day where a doctor advised pregnant women to sleep on the left side rather than right while pregnant to reduce pain, and morning sickness ...

 

[zippy]

<< ah, you people have no knowledge >>


Hey, you're the one who thinks babiess are made in their mother's stomach!

 

[Farbio]

yep alpha, you found me out, i pulled that answer right out of my ass

 

[vi edit]

Uh, I think farbio is in pre-med if I'm not mistaken. I think I'll take his answer.

 

[Farbio]

thanks vi, i didn't feel like having to re-iterate that when bitching at alpha

 

[beer]

I believe the regression to the curve showing the number of enemies Alf has made recently would be exponential. He's on a roll.

 

[thelanx]

Do you know that 1 in 1000 (maybe it was 10000) people have their heart on their right side? Pretty weird huh?

 

[Farbio]

really thelanx?? i hadn't heard of that, although it wouldn't really be that big of an anomaly, just a slight triggering of the opposite gene when the lungs are developing or a lack of twisting during embryo development and differentation of the tissues, so its not unheard of

 

[AlphaIVT]

wow, I am stupid then, thanks for the heads up Farbio

Element007, you won round 1. 😉

 

[vi edit]

I'm one out 100,000 people that only have one kidney 🙂

 

[jhu]

the abnormality where the heart is on the right side of the thorax is called dextrocardia and may be associated with other organs being on the opposite side of where they would usually be (situs inversus). it's controlled by some gene, don't remember what it's called.

 

[ltk007]

ALF, it might help you to know that babies don't develop in their mother's stomach. Just thought you should know 😉

 

[Farbio]

well jhu backed me up🙂 i figured i'll learn the normal anatomy first jhu then deal w/ the problems in it🙂