Mirror arrangement of organs. Mirror man like this

Dextrocardia – congenital anomaly of cardio-vascular system, a type of dystopia in which the heart is partially or completely displaced to the right and occupies a position mirror-symmetrical to the normal one.

The parts of the heart and all are located in a similar way. large vessels. In some cases, a mirror arrangement of some or all internal organs. According to statistics, dextrocardia occurs in approximately 0.01% of the population.

If anomalous location is not accompanied by other pathologies, dextrocardia may not manifest itself and is discovered by chance, when visiting a doctor for other reasons.

A shift of the heart to the right may also be a consequence pathological processes in the chest: pulmonary atelectasis, hydrothorax, tumor processes. With secondary mechanical displacement they speak of pathological dextraposition of the heart.

The formation of organs and systems of the body occurs in the first trimester of pregnancy. The heart tube forms in the first weeks of embryonic development and, for unknown reasons, bends to the right.

Most probable cause abnormal structure of the cardiovascular system is considered mutations of the ZIC3Shh, HAND, Pitxz, ACVR2 genes. There is evidence of an autosomal recessive type of inheritance of the anomaly.

Risk factors for developing the anomaly have not been clarified.

Kinds

All cases of dextrocardia are divided into three types:

• Simple dextrocardia. An extremely rare option when only the heart and great vessels are mirrored.
• Dextrocardia with mirror arrangement parts of the digestive and respiratory systems.
• Dextrocardia with complete transposition internal organs.

Danger and complications

Without accompanying pathologies does not pose any particular health hazard, does not affect the quality and life expectancy. In such cases, patients often learn about their characteristics by chance, during medical examination on another occasion.

One of the most significant risks for a patient with undiagnosed and uncomplicated dextrocardia and organ transposition is medical error when making a diagnosis. Diagnosis of the most common diseases of internal organs is difficult due to their unusual location and rarity of similar clinical cases.

Difficulties arise when it is necessary to carry out abdominal operations, especially if we're talking about about the need for surgery for transplantation of asymmetric organs.

As practice shows, people with a dystopic heart location are more prone to diseases of the respiratory system and other infectious diseases.

In most cases, dystopic location accompanied by other developmental defects, among which:

• Endocardial defects;
• Double ventricular outlet;
• interventricular septum;

Abnormal location of the heart can be combined with severe pathologies of organ development For example, patients are found to have a two- or three-chambered heart.

The danger of the patient’s condition depends on the type of concomitant pathology and its severity. Some concomitant heart defects appear immediately, in the first hours of life (the so-called “blue” defects), some (“white”) can be detected later, due to their asymptomatic course at an early age.

Sometimes a right-sided heart is combined with other pathologies of the abdominal and pleural cavities. One of the most common concomitant pathologies is heterotaxic syndrome. Patients with heterotaxy syndrome often have no spleen; in some cases, several underdeveloped spleens with significant dysfunction are found.

In 25% of cases in patients with dextrocardia, primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is detected - rare pathology development of the ciliary epithelium. Normally functioning cilia influence the processes of formation of internal organs and often cause their transposition.

Half of patients with PCD are diagnosed Kartagener-Siewert syndrome, inextricably linked with abnormal position internal organs. In such patients, pathological disorders anatomical structure upper respiratory tract, numerous bronchiectasis.

Cilia on the surface of the mucous membranes, which act as an active filter, may be completely absent. Men with this condition are infertile, since their sperm lack flagella.

This pathology is always combined with complete or partial transposition of internal organs, which indirectly confirms the hypothesis about the hereditary nature of dextrocardia.

Dystopic location of the heart common in children with Patau syndrome– trisomy on the 13th pair of chromosomes. This chromosomal disease is accompanied by multiple malformations affecting almost all organ systems; patients with Patau syndrome rarely survive to school age.

Symptoms

Uncomplicated dextrocardia in combination with complete transposition of internal organs usually does not manifest itself in any way and does not bother the patient at all. Such cases are relatively rare, much More often, dextrocardia is accompanied by other pathologies, which can appear both from the first seconds and over several years of life.

Characteristic external symptoms, caused by dystopia of the heart there are no, but it can be indirectly indicated by:

• Jaundice discoloration of the skin and sclera from birth;
• Difficulty breathing;
• Cyanosis or pallor of the skin;
• Heart rhythm disturbances.

In older children, in addition to listed symptoms may be observed:

• Increased susceptibility to infectious diseases of the lungs and upper respiratory tract;
• Increased fatigue, muscle weakness;
• Retarded physical development.

When to see a doctor

Complicated dextrocardia is detected in infancy and the child is immediately registered at a dispensary at the cardiologist. If uncomplicated dextrocardia is detected at an older and more mature age, they proceed in the same way.

The patient should undergo regular preventive examinations from the appropriate specialist.

Diagnostics

Dextrocardia may be suspected during normal external examination. The apex beat of the heart is detected on the right side during palpation, percussion shows displacement of cardiac dullness, and auscultation reveals an unusual location of heart sounds.

Additional instrumental studies may be required to confirm the diagnosis:

• X-ray examination;
• Ultrasound of the heart and blood vessels;
• Electrocardiography;
• Magnetic resonance imaging;
• CT scan.
• Angiography and cardiac catheterization.

The choice of examination methods depends on the type and severity of concomitant pathologies.

Because the electric axle the heart in dextrocardia is positioned mirror image relative to the norm, the ECG curve looks like a mirror image of the normal one. Electrocardiography is a mandatory type of examination if any cardiac abnormalities are suspected for differential diagnosis congenital and acquired pathologies of the cardiovascular system.

Read in detail about coarctation of the aorta in the fetus and newborn - this heart defect can be treated quite well.

Treatment

When diagnosed with cardiac dextrocardia, uncomplicated concomitant diseases and does not in any way affect the general state of health, does not require treatment.

Treatment tactics in the presence of concomitant pathologies aimed at eliminating them and is developed depending on the severity of the patient’s condition. Often the only thing possible way alleviating the condition and saving the patient’s life is surgical intervention.

In preparation for surgery, conservative treatment to stabilize the patient's condition. As part of maintenance therapy, the following is prescribed:

• Diuretics;
• Antihypertensive drugs;
• Drugs that support the heart muscle.

Patients are almost always prescribed long-term treatment antibiotics and drugs from the group of probiotics for the prevention of intestinal microflora disorders.

The general scheme can be supplemented with others medicines depending on the characteristics of the course of the disease.

Prognosis and prevention

With absence concomitant diseases there is no threat to the patient’s health and life. The presence of complications from other internal organs increases the risk of developing heart failure, acute infectious diseases, male infertility, intestinal maltoration.

IN severe cases, accompanied by multiple congenital pathologies, patient mortality during the first year of life may exceed 90%(Patau syndrome).

There are no effective measures to prevent dextrocardia. Due to the likely hereditary nature of the anomaly, married couples who have proven cases of dextrocardia among relatives should especially carefully monitor their health during pregnancy planning. TO general recommendations respects the principles healthy image life.

Did you know that a person's heart can be located on the right? Yes, there are people in the world with mirror images of organs or with abnormal development. In people with dextrocardia, the heart is located on the right side. Besides, blood vessels also shifted to right side. Moreover, the owners of the right heart lead full life, which is absolutely no different from the lives of other people. The life expectancy of patients with dextrocardia is sometimes even longer than that of those with a left heart.

general information

The human heart begins to develop from the 2nd week of embryo formation in the womb. Initially these are two cardiac primordia. At this stage, a deviated cardiac septum may begin to form in the fetus. As a rule, fetal dextrocardia does not occur alone, but in combination with other heart pathologies.

Dextrocardia does not have any severe symptoms and consequences for humans. There are also no complaints in patients with dextrocardia. Treatment of this pathology is not recommended.

Classification of types of dextrocardia

Dextrocaria is divided into several main types - let's look at them:

• Simple type - when the heart is located on the right and there are no other pathologies in the body. The patient’s health is absolutely normal, without complications, the body’s functionality is full.
• Dextrocardia with complete mirror image of internal organs.
• Complete dextrocardia - internal organs are located diametrically opposite (this also applies to organs chest and organs abdominal cavity).

Married couples who have had dextrocardia in their family should be very careful not only about their health, but also about the issue of family planning.

Dextrocardia is a pathology, not a healthy human condition.

Causes

Among the main causes of dextrocardia is a gene mutation in parents, which leads to a violation intrauterine development fetus It is believed to be an autosomal disease with a hereditary predisposition. The reasons for the mirror arrangement of internal organs are unknown. But the fact remains that during the process of embryonic organ laying, the heart tube begins to shift to the right.

Do not confuse dextrocardia and dextroposition of the heart - these are two various diseases, and the second (dextroposition) is also caused by pathologies in the form of tumors, accumulation of fluid in chest cavity, for pathologies gastrointestinal tract when more fluid accumulates in the organs than is acceptable. Also, ascites, removal of right lung. If you start treating these diseases correctly, then general condition and the patients’ well-being returns to normal.

Symptoms

If we are talking about the so-called uncomplicated dextrocardia, then it does not bother the person in any way and does not cause any unpleasant symptoms. Unpleasant sensations arise only if there is a pathology or other internal organs also have a mirror arrangement.

Externally, dextrocardia manifests itself in the form of pale skin, yellowing of the skin and yellowing of the sclera, difficulty breathing, increased pulse, difficulty breathing, sharp decline body weight.

If the phenomenon of dextrocardia is observed in children, then in this case Kartagener's syndrome develops in parallel. What it is? This congenital disease, an abnormality of the respiratory system, as a result of which the inhaled air is not cleared of dust. Because of this, children very often get sick, they experience constant colds, bronchitis, and other diseases (inflammatory and infectious) of the upper respiratory tract. Such children lag behind both physically and mental development. They have poorly developed gastrointestinal and respiratory organs. If long time ignore all these symptoms, there is a risk fatal outcome The child has.

What can be the complications of a mirror arrangement of the heart?

Complications of the mirror arrangement of the heart can manifest themselves in the form of disorders of the cardiovascular system, intestinal diseases, chronic and acute diseases heart disease, pneumonia and the most difficult thing – death.

How to diagnose?

Diagnosis of a mirror complication of the heart implies visual inspection patient, use of x-ray, ultrasound of the heart, tomography, x-ray. It is recommended that newborns be examined more intensively for pathologies of the cardiovascular system.

What's the forecast?

In most clinical cases, dextrocardia has favorable prognosis. This phenomenon does not require treatment, since you can live with it quite problem-free. Of course, if the patient has not only dextrocardia, but also congenital heart defects, then surgical intervention will be required. If the case is very serious, this is the only possibility save the patient's life.

From drug treatment to maintain the functioning of the heart muscle, medications Trimetazidine and Riboxin are prescribed; diuretics – Furasemide, Veroshpiron; complex of vitamins and minerals; plant complexes in the form of hawthorn, as well as various nutritional supplements. After surgery, patients can be prescribed drugs that support immunity - Bronchomunal, Imunorix.

So, if your heart is located on the right and not on the left, then you should not think that this could pose a danger to your life. To eliminate everything possible risks, you just need to undergo an appropriate examination by a cardiologist.

Dextrocardia is a fairly rare congenital anomaly in which most of a person’s heart is located mirror-like in the right half of the chest, and not in the left, like most people on the planet. A change in the position of the heart occurs as a result of disruption of the development of the heart tube in the embryo at early stage pregnancy, when it bends more to the right, and not to the left side. That is why in the future the heart shifts to right side chest cavity. The reasons for this anomaly are still unclear. In some people, in addition to the displacement of the heart, there may be a reverse arrangement of all or only some internal organs.

Dextrocardia should not be confused with dextraposition of the heart, which is nothing more than a secondary mechanical displacement of the heart to the right relative to its normal position for diseases neighboring organs(hypoplasia or atelectasis of the right lung, left-sided hydrothorax, and mediastinal organs, etc.).

Symptoms of dextrocardia

A doctor can quite easily suspect this phenomenon during a physical examination; upon palpation, the apical impulse is detected on the right; also, upon percussion, cardiac dullness shifts. Throughout his life, the patient may not present any complaints; many people learn about their “phenomenality” only in adulthood by chance during a heart examination for any disease.

In the absence of concomitant pathologies, the abnormal location of the heart does not in any way affect the duration and quality of life. Such people are born healthy children with the normal location of all internal organs, although it is believed that the likelihood of having a child with dextrocardia is still slightly higher.

Any symptoms can accompany dextrocardia only if they are combined with congenital defects in the structure of the heart or if this anomaly is one of the symptoms of Kartagener-Siewert syndrome.

Kartagener–Siewert syndrome

This genetic disease, in which there is dextrocardia or reverse arrangement of all internal organs, pathology of the upper respiratory tract (hypoplasia paranasal sinuses nose, polyposis, high palate or deviated nasal septum) and bronchopulmonary pathology (bronchiectasis, impaired mucociliary clearance). In addition, patients may suffer from otitis media and infertility.

The disease begins to manifest itself in early childhood, patients suffer from chronic sinusitis and otitis, which most often worsen in the spring and autumn. Treatment in most cases is symptomatic.

Diagnosis of dextrocardia

Modern technologies make it possible to identify this anomaly and developmental defects (if any) even during the period of intrauterine development of the child. After birth, children with this phenomenon are recommended to undergo a more in-depth examination to exclude structural defects of the heart, its valves and blood vessels. For this purpose, echocardiography is performed ( ultrasonography) organ, the method allows you to visualize structural elements hearts, valves, assess blood flow in vessels. An ultrasound examination of the abdominal organs should also be performed to determine the location of other internal organs.

An additional research method is magnetic resonance imaging, but in most cases, if no pathologies are identified, ultrasound examinations are sufficient.

American professional basketball player Randy Foy plays in the NBA; his heart is located on the right side, but this does not prevent him from playing sports professionally and achieving high sports results. This once again proves that in the absence of concomitant pathologies, people with dextrocardia are no different from others.

Which doctor should I contact?

If you find out that your heart is located on the right, you need to contact a cardiologist. The doctor will refer you for an ultrasound examination of the heart - echocardiography, which will help identify possible defects this organ.

Today we will talk about the location of human organs. It is worth noting that anatomy is a rather fascinating subject not only for medical personnel. Every person on our planet awakens an interest in this issue at least once in their life.

Have you ever wondered:

• where is the liver, appendix located;
• why does it hurt in the side;
• why women in an “interesting” position feel nauseous and so on.

How the organs are located, photos with descriptions will be presented in this article. Even a superficial knowledge of anatomy can help to obtain emergency assistance specialist by phone before the ambulance arrives.

Knowledge of anatomy is the key to understanding the processes occurring inside and the malfunctions. It is also very important to take into account that knowledge of the internal structure of a person is constantly expanding. But for this it is necessary to clearly understand how our body functions and how the internal organs are interconnected. Without this basic knowledge, all scientific progress is simply useless.

What is anatomy?

Now we will briefly talk about what anatomy is. Let's turn to the Greek roots of the origin of the word, the translation sounds something like this:

• incision;
• opening;
• dissection.

This branch of biology studies the structure human body, but in addition, it covers issues of origin, formation and evolution. Anatomy studies appearance parts of the body and location of human organs.

It is also important to note that there are several forms of this science:

1. Normal.
2. Pathological.
3. Topographical.

We propose to cover very briefly and this question. Let's look at each type of anatomy separately.

Normal anatomy

Let's start with the fact that there is quite a lot of material on the structure of the human body. As a result, some difficulties arose in the study of this science. That is why the human body was divided into parts, that is, systems.

It is the organ systems that are considered systematic (or normal) anatomy. The whole point is to divide complex parts into simpler ones. It is also important to note that this section of anatomy studies a person in healthy condition. This is the main difference between normal anatomy and pathological one.

Pathological anatomy

Just like physiology, pathological anatomy conducts a study of the changes that occur with human body during any illness. Studies are carried out microscopically, which helps to identify pathological conditions:

• fabrics;
• organs.

It is definitely worth mentioning that the object of the study is in this case a person who died from an illness, that is, a corpse.

It is also important that all anatomical knowledge can be divided into two parts:

1. Are common.
2. Private.

The first group includes knowledge that reflects methods of research into the anatomy of pathological processes. The second includes the morphological manifestations of diseases (for example, tuberculosis, cirrhosis, rheumatism, and so on).

Surgical anatomy

This type of such a vast science began its development only when the need arose practical medicine. Who became the founder surgical anatomy(it is also called topographic)? Enough famous doctor Pirogov N.I.

This section studies the arrangement of organs and other elements in humans relative to each other. The following questions are also addressed here:

• structure in layers;
• lymph flow;
• blood supply (provided that the body is healthy).

It is important to note the fact that in all this, some factors are taken into account, namely:

• gender;
• age-related changes and so on.

Human anatomical structure

Before moving on to the location of the internal organs of a person, it is necessary to understand one more point. Everyone knows from childhood that the functional element of the entire human body is the cell. It is the accumulation of these tiny particles form tissues and organs. All parts of the body are combined into systems. We propose to list which ones.

1. Let's start with the one that is considered the most difficult - digestive. Organs included in this system, ensure the process of digesting food.
2. The organs of the cardiovascular system provide blood supply to the entire body. It is important to note that this includes lymphatic vessels.
3. Deals with the regulation of nervous and biological processes endocrine system.
4. The only system that differs between men and women is the genitourinary system. It provides two functions simultaneously: reproductive, excretory.
5. Protection of internal organs from external environment is engaged
6. Life would be impossible without breathing. Respiratory system enriches the blood with oxygen and processes carbon dioxide.
7. Finally we got to musculoskeletal system, which allows us to move and maintain the body in a certain position.
8. Very important and nervous system, which includes the brain (brain and spinal column). It is the brain that controls and coordinates the work of all body systems.

Thoracic region

In this section you can see photos of the location of organs chest area. Let's look at the function of each of them:

1. The heart is involved in pumping blood.
2. The lungs saturate the blood with oxygen.
3. The bronchi protect against foreign bodies and transmit oxygen to the alveoli of the lungs.
4. The trachea moves oxygen to the bronchi, and in the opposite direction - carbon dioxide.
5. The esophagus is necessary to deliver food to the stomach.
6. The diaphragm plays an important role during breathing. Namely, control of pulmonary volume.
7. The thymus produces white blood cells and performs a number of functions, including maintaining immunity and being responsible for growth and blood composition.

Abdominal region

The location of the abdominal organs can be seen in the photo presented in this section. Organs:

• digestive tract;
• pancreas;
• liver;
• gallbladder;
• kidneys;
• spleen;
• pancreas;
• intestines.

IN digestive system includes:

• stomach;
• intestines (small, large and rectum);
• the liver (the largest gland in our body) and other organs involved in digestion.

Small and large pelvis

Let's start with what a pelvis is. This is the part of the skeleton that is located in the lower part of the body. Let's list the bones that make up the base:

• pelvic (2 pcs);
• sacrum;
• coccyx.

Consists of small and big basin from the following bodies:

• intestines;
• bladder;
• genitals.

The latter are different for men and women. In men, the genital organs include:

• prostate;
• testes;
• vas deferens;
• penis.

• uterus;
• appendages;
• ovaries;
• vagina.

It is also worth paying attention to the fact that the arrangement of organs in this area is quite close, and they are all interconnected. If there is a problem in one of the organs, then there is a high probability that this will lead to damage to others.

Women are in an "interesting" position

It would seem that the arrangement of human organs in an “interesting” position changes only in the abdominal cavity. However, this is not the case. The changes also apply to other organs:

• the heart now works for two (increases in size);
• mammary glands enlarge;
• The fallopian tubes thicken.

All changes can be seen in the photo of this section of the article. It is also important that a woman’s body gradually comes to previous state, however, the uterus will be slightly, but enlarged.

Human anatomy is a rather interesting topic, but in the article we touched only on some (general) points. In addition, to this day man has not been able to understand all the capabilities of the human body.

A mirror man can also be created artificially. For example, in fraternal Belarus, the creation of a mirror man has been successfully carried out, in which everything - both body and clothes - is a set of many mirror fragments, resulting in an incredible image. It takes a lot of effort to make this optical miracle, but the result is something that can, as they would say in the old days, successfully distract working people from the class struggle. And currently mirror man found wide application when organizing parties. holidays, corporate events and anniversaries.

Mirror symmetry of organs

However, without any use of mirrors, something similar can be observed in the body of some citizens who have the so-called Transposition of internal organs (situs inversus). It is also called the mirror arrangement of internal organs, hence the name mirror man. This is quite rare congenital condition, when the main internal organs are mirrored with their normal location. In particular, the apex of the heart is directed to the right, and the stomach is to the right. Even their names differ, since the normal arrangement of organs is called situs solitus. So that people with a similar arrangement of organs do not feel defective, we point out that in even more in rare cases meets and uncertain situation internal organs, it was called situs ambiguous.

The condition in which the apex of the heart points to the right was first noted by Marco Severino in 1643, but true situs invertus was first described more than a century later by Matthew Baillie.

Mirror man what is it?

The frequency of the spread of transposition of internal organs is indicated by statistics, according to which it is observed no more often than one person out of ten thousand.

A similar condition applies to all the main organs in the abdomen, where the organs are located in a mirror image. In addition to the “right” heart, stomach and spleen, there is a “left” liver and gall bladder, and the left lung is trilobed with the right lung bilobed. The blood vessels, lymphatic vessels and nerves, as well as the intestines, are also inverted.

Sometimes, extremely rarely, there are cases that with such an inversion, the heart still takes its classic position and vice versa, with the normal arrangement of the organs, the heart is on the right.

This kind of birth defects are already dangerous.

And people with complete transposition of internal organs and in the absence birth defects hearts lead normal image life, not realizing the intricacies of their anatomy until the first medical examination. The only drawback is the possibility of setting incorrect diagnoses, but, as they say, “you need to warn.” But in the event of various gangster attacks or assassination attempts, their likelihood of survival is higher, because a professional can swim in medicine.

In addition, a situation in which internal organ transplantation is necessary can be an exceptional nuisance, since it will be extremely difficult to find a donor.