On 15-6-2009 17:33, Stephen wrote:
> andrel <a_l### [at] hotmailcom> wrote:
>> On 15-6-2009 14:02, Stephen wrote:

>>> electrical impulses to the heart are interrupted and fibrillation occurs. IIRC
>>> there are parts of the heart that receive the electrical impulses from the
>>> brain then transmit secondary impulses to the muscle tissue to contract and
>>> relax in an organised way.
>> No the heart is autonomous, will even beat outside the body for some
>> time (hours) if oxygenated. It's frequency can be modulated by stuff in
>> the blood and by nerve tissue that is close to the sinus node when they
>> release special molecules.
>>
> 
> I thought that you might respond :)


Thanks for assuming that there are only kids in this newsgroup. ;)

I disagree, a lie for children is when you explain something highly 
simplified and/or deliberately wrong because the actual facts are to 
difficult. Suggesting that the heart is driven by the nervous system is 
simply wrong and what actually happens is just as easy to understand. 
Involving the brain will in a bright child immediately lead to questions 
what happens when you sleep or are unconscious. The child might even 
fear to go to sleep. It does not explain coma or how a paralysed person 
can live. So, please, if you have children, tell them a simplification 
of the truth, but never that your brain dictates when the heart has to 
beat.

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