Oral: A mathematical and computational model to study the role of the cardiac jelly during morphogenesis

One of the key components of the cardiac morphogenesis of vertebrates is the dynamics of the extracellular matrix, also known as cardiac jelly, located between the myocardium and endocardium layers during embryonic development. Besides its viscoelastic properties, the thickness inhomogeneities in the cardiac jelly during these stages are crucial for correct development. Experimental data have shown a strong correlation between this and the process of delamination that forms the structure of the heart.

In this study, we introduce a detailed mathematical model to describe the dynamics of the cardiac jelly. Our model captures the intricate interplay between its elasticity, viscosity, and time-dependent deformation. This approach allows us to look deeper into the physical properties that govern the cardiac jelly's behavior during embryonic development.

The main application of our model is to investigate fracture generation within the cardiac jelly. Using our mathematical framework and a finite element computational implementation, we simulate a 3D model of the cardiac jelly. This enables us to study the generation of fracture patterns depending on the geometrical and material properties of the system and to compare our results with experimental observations in zebrafish embryos.