So, there's this crazy idea out there that an organ the size of our fist, weighing ~300 grams, is responsible for pumping (through sheer force) 5.5 liters of blood through veins over 100,000km long (the circumference of the earth is 40,000 km) and it does this roughly 1.5 times a day! Pretty insane proposal right? But, that's what we believe.
Did you know the blood flows through our veins before our heart develops!?
"Sure, but that is because our mothers' heart is pumping it. Right?"
Maybe, but do you know this is also the case with baby chicks, while they are developing in an egg? Without a 'mothers heart'...
There's a theory
A theory that the heart is more of a sensor(among other things) and less of a pump! That blood circulates with a complex combination of vortexes, arterial compressions and the inherent makeup of blood itself... I'm not entirely sure, to be honest, I don't think anyone really knows...
I have searched for a reasonable modern medical explanation of how the heart works to cite here, but I found nothing of value and most of what I found was quite comical.
(Any medical-scientists out there who would attempt to enlighten me?)
Either way, this thought intrigues me.
The idea of my heart being solely responsible for pumping my blood through my body is pretty stressful! My heart likes the idea of being a central sensor and guide opposed to a mechanistic pump!
What do you think?