A heart works as a pump sending blood around the body. The structure of a particular animal’s heart is closely related to the physical abilities of that animal. In collaboration with Jikei University School of Medicine, the whale shark’s unique heart structure has been revealed by studying the heart’s internal structure. For example, the whale shark’s heart used an extremely low percentage of heart muscles even during intense activity. This characteristic is thought to reflect its behavior of swimming slowly in the ocean.

Authors

Yuji Hirasaki, Taketeru Tomita, Makio Yanagisawa, Keiichi Ueda, Keiichi Sato, Masataka Okabe
(Bold letters: Staff members of Okinawa Churashima Foundation)

Title of Paper

Heart anatomy of Rhincodon typus: Three-dimensional x-ray computed tomography of plastinated specimens

Title of Journal

The Anatomical Record

Link to Article

https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ar.23902

Three‐dimensional x-ray computed tomography of a whale shark’s heart.
External shape (Top) and internal structure (Bottom)