The understanding of cardiovascular development has begun a transformation from the
descriptive science of anatomy and embryology to a molecular understanding of the cellular
and subcellular events leading to proper cardiac morphogenesis. Powerful tools available to
molecular geneticists have identified numerous examples of specific gene defects that result
in predictable cardiovascular abnormalities. Not only have certain genes been “knocked
out”(mutated by homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells), but also single gene …