We associate the heart with life because, like life itself, the heart is dynamic. From second to second, and on a macroscopic scale, the heart is the only organ that discernibly moves. Through its murmurings, it speaks to us; through its synchronized contractions, it broadcasts an electrical signal several thousand times more powerful than any other in the body. Over the centuries, disparate cultures have viewed the heart as the source of a life-giving force that was to be culled or harvested.
