You are constructing working models of the heart for extra credit. Your first attempt failed because the cells separated from each other during beating. What structures did you omit, and why did this allow the heart to fall apart? You omitted the gap junctions in your second attempt. How would a real heart fail to function normally without gap junctions?
What will be an ideal response?
Desmosomes were omitted. Without desmosomes, the contractile force of the heart would be large enough to separate the cells from each other. Without the gap junctions, the electrical currents that stimulate contraction would not be propagated from cell to cell, and the heart would fail to beat.
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