Abstract
Catheterization as a medical technique has been in practice for more than two millennia. While it first began as an experimentation with animals, it gradually became part of human treatments. The procedure of cardiac catheterization in humans was first put to clinical use more than five decades ago and has undergone many changes since then. What was once a purely experimental technique is now one of the most common invasive medical procedures in Europe and North America, with more than eighty-percent of those procedures performed to diagnose suspected heart disease. Animal cardiac catheterization was first accomplished in 1844 with a horse. The characterization of the human heart was first accomplished by a German medical student in 1929. By the 1940's, the practice had become improved and was starting to become common practice in a few hospitals in North America and Europe. By entering a catheter through an arm vein, surgeons were able to reach the atrium of the heart. Today, cardiac catheterization is accomplished with a great deal of skill and technology, but is much easier and less dangerous than when it first was being used. It is the purpose of this paper to examine the history of cardiac catheterization and its import to medicine today.

Abstract
This paper discusses ancient Greek and Roman architecture, focusing on how the Roman was derived from the Greek and ending with a description of the ancient Roman interiors.

From the Paper
"Ancient Greek and Roman architecture is among the most beautiful ever designed. The precision, orderliness and simple beauty of ancient Greek and Roman structures-not to mention their utility-have stood the test of time and elements of them still appear in buildings today. This paper will look at ancient Greek architecture and its influence on subsequent ancient Roman architecture, the influence of ancient thinkers will be addressed and ancient Roman interiors will be described. Ancient Greek architecture is distinctive for the fact that the Greeks spent much..."

Tags:ancient, Roman, Greek, architecture, atrium house, insula, townhouse, apartment

Abstract
The paper discusses the causes and impact of an atrial fibrillation (AF) episode. The paper describes the symptoms of AF and then details the different treatments available. The paper also addresses the role of nurses as the primary care givers for these patients.

From the Paper
"Atrial fibrillation represents the single most common form of cardiac arrhythmias and is identified in 5% of all people above the age of 69, affecting an estimated 2.2 million people in the US alone. [Lawrence Rosenthal, (2009)] It is a tachy arrhythmia with diverse triggers ('including sympathetic and parasympathetic stimulation') that initiate an episode and favorable substrates that maintain it. Currently, the exact causes that trigger an AF episode are not totally understood but multiple mechanisms are found to be in play. One such theory is the 'multiple wavelet theory' that suggests that the 'fractionalization of waves' that travel along the atrium leads to 'daughter wavelets' that results in multiple wavelet reentry. This theory proposes that the number of daughter wavelets maybe determined by different factors including the reduction in 'atrial conduction velocity', decreased 'atrial refractory period' and atrial mass. [Lawrence Rosenthal, (2009)] More recent studies have implicated ectopic sites in the pulmonary vein and the vena caval junctions as potential triggers of AF. This theory has been attested by cases of patients recovering after radio frequency ablation of the vena caval junctions. [Maurits et.al 2001]
"Typically, during an AF episode, the atrium may beat up to 300 times per minute while the ventricles may beat up to 175 times per minute . During AF, the conduction signal may originate in a different location of the atria (other than the usual SA node) or may be originating from the adjacent left pulmonary vein. This results in abnormal contractions of the atrium that significantly affects ventricular filling."

Tags:cardiac, arrhythmias, atrium, vena, cava, ventricles, clots, heart, blood

Abstract
This paper discusses how CPR administration methods since the 1950's have largely remained unchanged, although medical understanding of how the human body reacts to sudden cardiac reperfusion has greatly advanced. The writer describes a recent change in CPR procedure by the American Heart Association, and the use of advanced external defibrillators (AED's). The writer explains some of the medical advances in cardiac reperfusion methods, such as total liquid ventilation (TLV), and describes studies that were carried out to find the best reperfusion techniques. This paper contains a table.

From the Paper
"First responders are always trained to provide the latest protocol for administering CPR. However, most people fall into three categories: never trained in CPR, fully trained and current, or fully trained but not current. A lot of people are turned off by the nature of administering CPR instead opting to do nothing rather than face a possible lawsuit if it is done improperly. Still others fear getting a disease from contact with mucus/saliva or blood born pathogens. With all of the infectious diseases carried throughout our society it is little wonder that a person would hesitate to perform resuscitation on a total stranger. As to the liability issue of performing CPR, most if not all states have a "Good Samaritan" law which precludes anyone receiving CPR from suing if they are injured as a result of the act. Chest compressions during CPR almost always result in broken ribs even when administered by first responders who do it for a living."

Tags:coronary, post-operative, morbidity, atrium, myocardial, infarction, oxygen

Abstract
This paper discusses the notion that architects and artists working in medieval Europe borrowed ideas from all the cultures surrounding the Mediterranean or coming across the central European mountain ranges. The paper presents examples of this cross-culturalism, with a focus on Islam being the most influential of the cultural donors to medieval art and architecture. The paper contends that, although these examples do not definitively trace any single aspect of Islam into Western ecclesiastical art, they do serve as an indication that it is impossible to consider any medieval art, no matter how isolated we think Europe of the Middle Ages must have been, without considering the very substantial trade, not to mention wars and incursions, that made the traditions of one culture available to the others.

From the Paper
"In addition, the precursors of Islamic art and architecture elements that continued to inform their vision throughout their expansion into Spain and later, via their export to "corporate" Europe by returning Crusaders cannot be surgically removed from any consideration of so-called Islamic influences on medieval European art and architecture. Rather, they must be viewed as a substrate that upheld the Islamic vision by virtue of continuous adherence in the society in which Islam was born, and therefore as an unbroken line into the monastic traditions of medieval Europe. It was, moreover, the monastic tradition that formed the bedrock on which all other medieval art and architecture achievements were based; the monasteries were the repositories, after all, of the learning that would otherwise have been lost."

Tags:abbey, priory, atrium

Abstract
This paper discusses how physicians can screen for the cardiac defect 'total anomalous pulmonary venous return'. It examines the research of treating the problem and it suggests managing the disease through teamwork with a pediatric cardiologist, a cardiac surgeon and neonatologist.

From the Paper
Total anomalous pulmonary venous return is a congenital heart defect. Caused by the abnormal development of a fetus s heart during the first eight weeks of pregnancy, the vessels that feed blood that has traveled back from the heart to the lungs are improperly connected. During the middle of this fetal development period, the tricuspid valve does not develop properly ventricular development is influenced by blood flowing through it, and since no blood is able to pass through the tricuspid valve, the right ventricle remains small.In a normal heart, oxygen-poor, or blue, blood returns to the right atrium after it has circulated through the body, travels to the right ventricle and then is pumped through the pulmonary artery into the lungs where it is enriched with oxygen. That oxygen-rich, or red, blood returns to the left atrium from the lungs through four pulmonary veins. It then passes into the left ventricle and is then pumped back out for circulation throughout the body.

Tags:veins, left, atrium, possible, place, mis-connected, superior, vena, cava, blood, vessel

Abstract
Deep veins in the legs and pelvis join to form a large vein in the back of the abdomen, known as the inferior vena cava, which carry blood from the lower part of the body to the heart. This paper explains how the inferior vena cava is usually a single large vein that forms from many smaller veins in the early stages of development of a human embryo. The importance of this vein is discussed and an examination of health risks if this vein is damaged.

From the Paper
"The superior vena cava, which is one of the largest veins in the body, works to return blood back to the right atrium from the upper part of the body. The inferior vena cava is important for carrying the blood back to the right atrium from the lower part of the body. The inferior vena cava is a large vein--about as big as a broom handle--in the abdomen and chest. It drains most of the blood from the legs and abdomen and takes it to the heart. The heart then pumps then pumps it into the tiny vessels of the lungs to get fresh oxygen and then out again into the general circulation."

Tags:cardio, heart, adbomen, superior, vessel, atrium, body, attack, health, risk, embryo