The orderly timing of cell growth, cell migration, and programmed cell death ("apoptosis") has been studied extensively and the genes that control the process are being elucidated. Around day 15 of development, the cells that will become the heart exist in two horseshoe shaped bands of the middle tissue layer (mesoderm), and some cells migrate from a portion of the outer layer (ectoderm), the neural crest, which is the source of a variety of cells found throughout the body. On day 19 of development, a pair of vascular elements, the "endocardial tubes", form. The tubes fuse when cells between then undergo programmed death and cells from the first heart field migrate to the tube, and form a ring of heart cells (myocytes) around it by day 21. On day 22, the heart begins to beat and by day 24, blood is circulating.At day 22, the circulatory system is bilaterally symmetrical with paired vessels on each side and the heart consisting of a simple tube located in the midline of the body layout. The portions that will become the atria and will be located closest to the head are the most distant from the head.
Short-limb skeletal dysplasia with severe combined immunodeficiency is an extremely rare autosomal recessive type of achondroplasia which is characterized by short stature,  bowing of the long bones, and generalized metaphyseal abnormalities alongside signs of SCID such as recurrent severe infections, failure to thrive, chronic diarrhea, and a notable absence of T and B lymphocytes. Around 11 cases have been described in medical literature. == References ==