Murmur and Bruit
The Tale of Murmur and Bruit, A Cardiovascular Story of Doomed Love, by JKForward
Similar to the Montague and Capulet families and their children Romeo and Juliet, this is the story of the Oxyo and Capno families and their children, two star-crossed lovers, red blood cells who for the sake of this romantic tale have been named after two heart sounds: Bruit and Murmur. Follow their journey along their fated paths as circulating blood takes them through the heart’s chambers.
We begin in Right Atrium, a rather poor (deoxygenated) township in the country of Cardio, where lived the Capno family, with their beautiful daughter, Murmur. A lovely yet melancholy girl (often feeling somewhat down and blue), she yearned for ruggedly handsome and ruddy-faced Bruit, who lived with his family, the Oxyos, on the left side of the great wall of Septum in Left Atrium, a rich (that’s oxygen-rich) township.
Tradition forbade the Capnos and the Oxyos from ever mingling, mixing, fraternizing, or in any way exchanging bodily fluids of any kind whatsoever. That made the forbidden love of Murmur and Bruit all the more poignant.
One day, Bruit called to Murmur across the great wall of Septum. “I know a way that we can meet! It will be a dangerous journey for each of us, with no guarantee of success of our finding each other at the end, but darling Murmur, I am willing to take the risk if you are!”
After much planning and discussion (Murmur was worriedly uncertain of the plan’s viability) and protestations of undying love, each made their way to the respective starting points of their prospective journeys at exactly the appointed time.
Casting furtive glances about her as she went, Murmur made her way (as usual, feeling weak and lethargic) down narrow bluish-coloured venules and even narrower venous capillary lanes of the neighbourhood of Right Atrium. She waited nervously at the gate: Tricuspid Valve, which when opened would take her to the lower township of Right Ventricle.
Meanwhile, Bruit was hurrying (as usual, full of energy) in a southerly direction through his town, Left Atrium. He rushed down the narrow bright red arterioles and even narrower arterial capillaries, arriving impatiently at his gate: Mitral Valve, which when opened would take him down to the township of Left Ventricle.
Each of the two would-be lovers waited anxiously on the opposite sides of Septum for the same moment at which their gates would open, so they could ride on waves of blood that would (oh vain, doomed hope!) carry them on the journey to the arms of their lover.
The moment had come! Diastole!
The diastole phase of the heartbeat caused the walls of Right Ventricle to relax as the entry gate to that town, Tricuspid Valve, was opening. Murmur was swept into the bluish stream gushing in from the two vena cavae. The rush of deoxygenated blood carried her down from the atrium and through the dangerous narrows of the Tricuspid Valve and into Right Ventricle.
Meanwhile, at exactly the same time, Bruit was experiencing similar sensations as diastole, caused by the opening of his gate, Mitral Valve, made the walls of Left Ventricle relax. Bruit rode the bright red oxygenated stream rushing from the pulmonary veins down the left atrium on his side of Cardio. Ahead of him, Mitral Valve was opening, and he was thrust through its dangerous narrows and into Left Ventricle.
The two lovers, on their opposite sides, each now in a ventricle, felt the waving motion of contraction as the Systole phase of the heartbeat now began. There was a mighty ‘LUB’, the ominous sound of Tricuspid Valve on Murmur’s right side and Mitral Valve on Bruit’s left snapping shut. The two now felt the turbulence of the streams that each was in as Systole’s contraction pushed them helplessly and inexorably upwards within their ventricles:
Murmur was pushed up her blue stream in Right Ventricle, through the narrows of the now-opening pulmonary valve and into the pulmonary artery. This was it! All unawares, she was on her way to Pulmono (or Lung, as the commoners referred to it). She could almost taste the sweet smell of Oxygen! How relieved she felt at the prospect of having renewed energy from Oxygen to buoy her passion for Bruit.
Meanwhile, Bruit was rushing up his gushing red stream in Left Ventricle, (bonking his head as he went through the narrows of the now-opening aortic valve) and then into the aorta itself. This was it! Any moment now! The aortic valve snapped shut behind him as Murmur’s pulmonary valve did the same behind her, the twin sounds making a ‘DUB’.......
Oh no! With dismay, Bruit realized his planning error. In front of him he saw the crossroads of arteries leading out of the aorta to the body that lay ahead for him and realized heart-brokenly that he was about to be swept from the aorta, from whence he would head off into adventure – who knew where? – to some distant point in the body, while his beloved Murmur was destined for the lungs.
The fates were against the star-crossed lovers; their paths might come tantalizingly close, but never were they destined to meet.
Thus ends the tragic love story of Murmur and Bruit.