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[[File:Binary_vascular_system.jpg|thumb|A scan taken by [[Kate Stewart]] reveals both [[the Doctor]]'s hearts. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Power of Three]]'')]]
{{first pic|Binary vascular system.jpg|A scan taken by [[Kate Stewart]] reveals both [[the Doctor]]'s hearts. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Power of Three (TV story)}})}}
A '''binary vascular system''' was a type of circulatory system in which the blood vessels led to two [[heart]]s.
A '''binary vascular system''' was a type of [[circulatory system]] in which the [[blood vessel]]s led to two [[heart]]s. [[Time Lord]]s had a binary vascular system. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Spearhead from Space (TV story)}} et al.)


[[Chen-7]], also known as the 1 Day Plague, only affected species with binary vascular systems, such as [[Apalapucian]]s and [[Gallifreyan]]s. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Girl Who Waited]]'')[[File:Ninth_Doctor's_Binary_Vascular_System.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Ninth Doctor's hearts are side by side. ([[TV]]: ''[[Dalek (TV story)|Dalek]]'')]]
== Characteristics ==
According to the [[Twelfth Doctor]], a binary vascular system led to extremely high [[blood pressure]] in comparison to single-hearted species like [[human]]s. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Smile (TV story)}}) The Dominator [[Rago]] once told [[Jamie McCrimmon]] that beings with single hearts were physically weaker than those with two hearts. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Dominators (TV story)}}) Given the multiple hearts, Time Lords also had two sets of pulses, as exhibited by the [[Thirteenth Doctor]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Woman Who Fell to Earth (TV story)}}) The [[Seventh Doctor]] used his knowledge of these pulses to attempt to see if his companion [[Melanie Bush|Mel]] was in fact {{O'Mara}} in disguise. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Time and the Rani (TV story)}})


[[Baris (The Doctor Trap)|Baris]], a fan of the [[Tenth Doctor]], had a second heart fitted to resemble him more. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Doctor Trap]]'')
When the [[Fifth Doctor]] was stabbed in the chest, he survived without the need to [[Regeneration|regenerate]] because his [[human]], single-hearted attacker aimed for the spot where the human heart would be, but the Doctor's two hearts were in a slightly different location. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Son of the Dragon (audio story)}}) Scans of the [[Ninth Doctor]]'s hearts and later those of the [[Eleventh Doctor]] and [[Thirteenth Doctor]] hearts showed that the hearts changed position during regeneration at some point. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Dalek (TV story)}}, {{cs|The Power of Three (TV story)}}, {{cs|Kerblam! (TV story)}}, {{cs|Resolution (TV story)}})


Scans of the [[Ninth Doctor]]'s hearts and later the [[Eleventh Doctor]]'s hearts showed that the hearts changed position during regeneration at some point. ([[TV]]: ''[[Dalek]]'', ''[[The Power of Three]]'')
[[The Master]] was plagued with a drumming sound which subsequently drove him mad. These "drums" were said to have been the sound of the heartbeat of a Time Lord. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Sound of Drums (TV story)}}, {{cs|The End of Time (TV story)}})


== Species with a binary vascular system ==
The [[Meta-Crisis Tenth Doctor]] stated that he could not regenerate due to only possessing a single heart. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Journey's End (TV story)}})
In general, binary vascular systems were not common amongst humanoids.


[[Gallifreyan]]s were perhaps the most notable species known to possess a binary vascular systems. ([[TV]]: ''[[Spearhead from Space]]'', et. al) Being a version of the Time Lords from an alternate timeline, the [[Word Lord]]s also had a binary vascular system. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Word Lord (audio story)|The Word Lord]]'')
A Gallifreyan in [[cardiac arrest]] needed [[CPR]] on both hearts; otherwise, it would prove ineffective. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Smith and Jones (TV story)}}) [[Amy Pond]] used a [[defibrillator]] to restart one of the Eleventh Doctor's hearts. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Power of Three (TV story)}})


In the [[Mutter's Spiral]] [[galaxy]], a few [[monopod]] species and a drone species had two hearts. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Tragedy Day (novel)|Tragedy Day]]'')
[[Cybusman|Cybermen]] could detect a binary vascular system, prompting them to take the subject for further analysis, which at least delayed [[cyber-conversion]]. In [[Pete's World]], the native Cybermen were unfamiliar with the [[Tenth Doctor]]'s binary vascular system and classed it as an "unknown [[upgrade]]". ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Age of Steel (TV story)}})


The [[Second Doctor]] once encountered another double-hearted [[humanoid]] species called the [[Dulcian]]s. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Dominators]]'')
== In Time Lords ==
[[File:Ninth Doctor's Binary Vascular System.jpg|thumb|The [[Ninth Doctor]]'s hearts, side by side. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Dalek (TV story)}})]]
[[Time Lord]]s' second hearts were not merely a biological quirk, but were their metaphysical tie to [[Gallifrey]] itself. Keeping them connected to Gallifrey at the centre of the [[Web of Time]], it was the possession of this second heart with allowed them to easily navigate [[deep time]] without adverse effects to their own wellbeing. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Adventuress of Henrietta Street (novel)}})


Later, the [[Eighth Doctor]] met the [[Kulan]], another race whose overall stamina seemed to be improved over [[human]]s by their two hearts. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Escape Velocity]]'')
A Time Lord's [[regeneration|regenerative process]] was intimately linked to their hearts. Time Lords from [[Oldblood]] [[Great House|Houses]] had only one heart until they regenerated for the first time; ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Man in the Velvet Mask (novel)}}, {{cs|Christmas on a Rational Planet (novel)}}, [[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Time in Office (audio story)}}) one [[Victim (Blood Invocation)|Time Lord]] whose body was examined by the [[Fifth Doctor]] on Gallifrey had a single heart, ([[COMIC]]: {{cs|Blood Invocation (comic story)}}) and the [[First Doctor]] himself was seen to have only one heart, ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Edge of Destruction (TV story)}}) although contemporary accounts tended to depict the Doctor [[The Doctor's species|as being, in fact, human]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Sensorites (TV story)}}, [[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Dream Masters (short story)}}, {{cs|The Lair of Zarbi Supremo (short story)}}, etc.) In contrast, members of [[Newblood]] Houses were [[Loom]]ed with both hearts. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Christmas on a Rational Planet (novel)}})


The [[Kirithon]]s were genetically engineered by the [[Panjistri]] to have two hearts. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Timewyrm: Apocalypse]]'')
Regeneration could be completely stopped — and the Time Lord was therefore killed immediately, regardless of how many lives they had left — if both hearts were pierced or shot simultaneously. [[Andred (Weapon of Choice)|Andred]] and [[Serena]] were both killed in this manner, ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Imperiatrix (audio story)}}, [[PROSE]]: {{cs|World Game (novel)}}) while [[Cavis]] was permanently killed when, during regeneration, her enemy stabbed both her original heart and the place where the second one would grow. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Shadows of Avalon (novel)}}) {{Roberts|c}}, having already gravely wounded the [[Eighth Doctor]] by shooting him in one of his hearts, threatened to take out the other if he attempted to regenerate. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Day of the Master (audio story)}}) [[Brooke 2]] of the [[Kovarian Chapter]] carried a [[regeneration inhibitor]] [[firearm]] capable of producing double blasts to take out a binary vascular system, which she used to kill [[H-One]]. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|The Furies (audio story)}}) [[Missy]] recommended eight [[sniper]]s, with three trained on each of her hearts and two for her [[brain stem]], so that [[Clara Oswald]] could feel safe while speaking to her, noting that they'd have to "switch [her] off fast" before she could regenerate. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Magician's Apprentice (TV story)}})


The [[Apalapucian]]s, residents of [[Apalapucia]], had two hearts. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Girl Who Waited]]'')
{{video|A Shakespearean villain - Doctor Who - The Shakespeare Code - BBC|thumb|align=left|The [[Tenth Doctor]] survives a blow to his left heart because he had another. ([[TV]]: [[The Shakespeare Code (TV story)|''The Shakespeare Code'']])}}
A Gallifreyan could survive with only one heart, though he or she would be weakened greatly. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Managra (novel)}}, [[TV]]: {{cs|The Shakespeare Code (TV story)}}, [[AUDIO]]: {{cs|City of Spires (audio story)}}) When one of the [[Third Doctor]]'s hearts momentarily stopped, {{Delgado}} warned him he was "within an inch of dying." ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Mind of Evil (TV story)}}) After the [[Eighth Doctor]]'s second heart was extracted from his chest, he was unable to process [[drug]]s or use his [[respiratory bypass system]], and to compensate, his remaining heart had to beat at a worryingly rapid pulse and was prone to fatigue. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Adventuress of Henrietta Street (novel)}}, {{cs|Hope (novel)}}, {{cs|Anachrophobia (novel)}}) During the [[Last Great Time War]], at least one Time Lord spy had her second heart removed from her body. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|A Heart on Both Sides (audio story)}}) One of the [[Tenth Doctor]]'s hearts stopped beating while he was recovering from [[regeneration]], ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Christmas Invasion (TV story)}}) and the [[Eleventh Doctor]] claimed that he wouldn't survive much longer after one of his hearts was stopped by a [[Shakri cube]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Power of Three (TV story)}}) The Eleventh Doctor once thanked a group of humans for helping him from the "bottoms of his hearts". ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Hello! (short story)}})


The inhabitants of [[Skale]] had two hearts. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Parallel 59 (novel)|Parallel 59]]'')
When [[Sabbath Dei|Sabbath]] implanted the [[Eighth Doctor]]'s second heart in his own chest, it endowed him with the ability to penetrate "[[deep time]]" (i.e., travelling further away from [[Earth|his homeworld]] than should be possible), simultaneously creating a link between the Doctor and Sabbath that meant that the Doctor would survive grievous wounds as his heart was still beating in Sabbath, until Sabbath tore the heart out of his own chest, its "death" allowing the Doctor to grow a new one. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Adventuress of Henrietta Street (novel)}}, {{cs|Hope (novel)}}, {{cs|Camera Obscura (novel)}})


== Benefits ==
== In other species ==
The Dominator [[Rago]] once told [[Jamie McCrimmon]] that beings with single hearts were physically weaker than those with two hearts. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Dominators]]'')
As Time Lords from an alternate timeline, the [[Word Lord]]s also had a binary vascular system. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|The Word Lord (audio story)}})


Similarly, when [[Henry van Statten]] performed an invasive scan of the [[Ninth Doctor]], he marvelled at the design and enthusiastically announced he was going to patent it. ([[TV]]: ''[[Dalek (TV story)|Dalek]]'')
In the [[Mutter's Spiral]] [[galaxy]], a few [[monopod]] species and a drone species had two hearts. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Tragedy Day (novel)}})
[[File:A Shakespearean villain - Doctor Who - The Shakespeare Code - BBC|thumb|The [[Tenth Doctor]] survives a blow to his left heart because he had another. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Shakespeare Code (TV story)|The Shakespeare Code]]'')]]
A Gallifreyan could survive with only one heart, should the other be punctured, destroyed, or temporarily stop beating, though he or she would be weakened greatly. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Managra (novel)|Managra]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[The Shakespeare Code]]'', ''[[The Power of Three]]'') On one occasion, the Doctor's second heart was extracted from his chest and implanted in [[Sabbath]], leaving the Doctor no longer able to process drugs and deprived of his [[Respiratory bypass system|respiratory bypass system]] while otherwise capable of operating at a human level, although his remaining heart had to increase its usual rate of beats to a worryingly rapid pulse and he was prone to becoming far more fatigued than usual. At the same time, the heart that Sabbath had stolen endowed Sabbath with the ability to penetrate "deep time" (travelling further away from his homeworld than should be possible), simultaneously creating a link between the Doctor and Sabbath that meant that the Doctor would survive grievous wounds as his heart was still beating in Sabbath, until Sabbath tore the heart out, its death allowing the Doctor to grow a new one. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Adventuress of Henrietta Street]]'', ''[[Hope (novel)|Hope]]'', ''[[Camera Obscura]]'') However, if the original heart was repeatedly damaged, even after having a regeneration, it seemed the secondary heart would not be able to sustain a Gallifreyan for long; the person in question would die. A defibrillator could be used to get both hearts working again, in this case. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Power of Three]]'')


A Gallifreyan in [[cardiac arrest]] would need [[CPR]] on ''both'' hearts. Otherwise, it would prove ineffective. ([[TV]]: ''[[Smith and Jones]]'')  
The [[Second Doctor]] once encountered another double-hearted [[humanoid]] species called the [[Dulcian]]s. His own binary vascular system led the [[Dominator]]s to believe he was a Dulcian. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Dominators (TV story)}})


A binary vascular system provided some level of protection from attack, in that single-hearted humanoids failed to aim correctly when attempting a close-range attack. The [[Fifth Doctor]], for instance, was once stabbed in the chest, but survived because his [[human]] attacker aimed for the spot where the human heart would be. Because the Doctor's two hearts were in a slightly different location, the attack was ineffectual. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Son of the Dragon]]'') Even when stabbed in one heart, the second heart would allow the subject to survive the injury, although the subject would require aid to heal the damaged heart. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Managra (novel)|Managra]]'')
{{Ainley|c}}, in his stolen [[Trakenite]] body, was recognised by the medical robot [[2B]] to have a "dual circulatory system", though he was disguising himself as the [[Fourth Doctor]] at the time. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|A Master of Disguise (short story)}})


[[Cybermen (Pete's World)|Cybermen from Pete's World]] could detect a binary vascular system, prompting them to take the subject [[Gallifreyan]] for further analysis, which at least delayed [[cyber-conversion]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Age of Steel (TV story)|The Age of Steel]]'')
The [[Eighth Doctor]] met the [[Kulan]], another race whose overall stamina seemed to be improved over [[human]]s by their two hearts. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Escape Velocity (novel)}})


== Hearts and regeneration ==
The [[Kirithon]]s were genetically engineered by the [[Panjistri]] to have two hearts. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Timewyrm: Apocalypse (novel)}})
A [[Time Lord]]'s [[regeneration|regenerative process]] was intimately linked to his or her hearts. Some accounts held that Time Lords had only one heart until they regenerated for the first time. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Man in the Velvet Mask]]'') Equally, regeneration could be completely stopped — and the Time Lord therefore killed — if both hearts were pierced or shot simultaneously. [[Andred]] and [[Serena]] were both killed in this manner, ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Imperiatrix (audio story)|Imperiatrix]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[World Game]]'') while [[Cavis]] was permanently killed after she was decapitated in her first incarnation by her enemy stabbing her mid-regeneration in both her original heart and the place where the second one would grow. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Shadows of Avalon]]'')


The [[Apalapucian]]s, residents of [[Apalapucia]], had two hearts. [[Chen-7]], also known as the 1 Day Plague, only affected species with binary vascular systems. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Girl Who Waited (TV story)}})
The inhabitants of [[Skale]] had two hearts. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Parallel 59 (novel)}})
When [[Henry van Statten]] performed an invasive scan of the [[Ninth Doctor]] in [[2012]], he marvelled at the design and enthusiastically announced he was going to patent it. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Dalek (TV story)}}) Humans genetically introduced a second heart many [[Segment of Time|Segments]] prior to circa [[far future|10,000,000]], with [[Rhos]] claiming that it had been introduced "in case of malfunction to the first one", with "several vital organs [having] been duplicated for the same reason", such as the [[liver]]. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Ark (novelisation)}}) The introduction of a second heart and secondary cervical trachea in "most individuals", alongside the removal of the appendix, was dated by the [[Multiplicity Central Digital Overview Index]]'s entry on [[Belgian Gerench]] to the [[45th century]]. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Esquivalience (novel)|<nowiki>{{esquivalience}}</nowiki>}})
[[Baris (The Doctor Trap)|Baris]], a fan of the [[Tenth Doctor]], had a second heart fitted so he could resemble him more. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Doctor Trap (novel)}})
One of [[Meep]]kind, [[Beep the Meep|the Meep]] had two hearts. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Star Beast (TV story)}})
== Behind the scenes ==
Christiaan Barnard, the surgeon who performed the first human-to-human heart transplant, also created the ''heterotopic heart transplant'' (also known as ''piggybank transplant''), in which instead of removing the faulty heart, a second heart is added, effectively creating a binary vascular system in the patient being operated upon. This surgery is very rare, being rendered largely obsolete as cardiothoracic surgery has become more advanced. Today is usually used as a placeholder before a more permanent transplant can be carried out, but a small number of humans are indeed a little bit closer to being a Time Lord than most of us.
=== Information from invalid sources ===
[[Marceline the Vampire Queen]] once asked [[the Doctor]] if she could [[drink]] one of his hearts, believing that he did not need both of them. ([[GAME]]: ''[[LEGO Dimensions (video game)|LEGO Dimensions]]'')
[[es:Sistema vascular binario]]
[[es:Sistema vascular binario]]
[[Category:Anatomy and physiology]]
 
[[Category:Binary vascular system| ]]
[[Category:Time Lords]]
[[Category:Gallifreyan physiology]]

Latest revision as of 20:36, 16 November 2024

A scan taken by Kate Stewart reveals both the Doctor's hearts. (TV: The Power of Three [+]Loading...["The Power of Three (TV story)"])

A binary vascular system was a type of circulatory system in which the blood vessels led to two hearts. Time Lords had a binary vascular system. (TV: Spearhead from Space [+]Loading...["Spearhead from Space (TV story)"] et al.)

Characteristics[[edit] | [edit source]]

According to the Twelfth Doctor, a binary vascular system led to extremely high blood pressure in comparison to single-hearted species like humans. (TV: Smile [+]Loading...["Smile (TV story)"]) The Dominator Rago once told Jamie McCrimmon that beings with single hearts were physically weaker than those with two hearts. (TV: The Dominators [+]Loading...["The Dominators (TV story)"]) Given the multiple hearts, Time Lords also had two sets of pulses, as exhibited by the Thirteenth Doctor. (TV: The Woman Who Fell to Earth [+]Loading...["The Woman Who Fell to Earth (TV story)"]) The Seventh Doctor used his knowledge of these pulses to attempt to see if his companion Mel was in fact the Rani in disguise. (TV: Time and the Rani [+]Loading...["Time and the Rani (TV story)"])

When the Fifth Doctor was stabbed in the chest, he survived without the need to regenerate because his human, single-hearted attacker aimed for the spot where the human heart would be, but the Doctor's two hearts were in a slightly different location. (AUDIO: Son of the Dragon [+]Loading...["Son of the Dragon (audio story)"]) Scans of the Ninth Doctor's hearts and later those of the Eleventh Doctor and Thirteenth Doctor hearts showed that the hearts changed position during regeneration at some point. (TV: Dalek [+]Loading...["Dalek (TV story)"], The Power of Three [+]Loading...["The Power of Three (TV story)"], Kerblam! [+]Loading...["Kerblam! (TV story)"], Resolution [+]Loading...["Resolution (TV story)"])

The Master was plagued with a drumming sound which subsequently drove him mad. These "drums" were said to have been the sound of the heartbeat of a Time Lord. (TV: The Sound of Drums [+]Loading...["The Sound of Drums (TV story)"], The End of Time [+]Loading...["The End of Time (TV story)"])

The Meta-Crisis Tenth Doctor stated that he could not regenerate due to only possessing a single heart. (TV: Journey's End [+]Loading...["Journey's End (TV story)"])

A Gallifreyan in cardiac arrest needed CPR on both hearts; otherwise, it would prove ineffective. (TV: Smith and Jones [+]Loading...["Smith and Jones (TV story)"]) Amy Pond used a defibrillator to restart one of the Eleventh Doctor's hearts. (TV: The Power of Three [+]Loading...["The Power of Three (TV story)"])

Cybermen could detect a binary vascular system, prompting them to take the subject for further analysis, which at least delayed cyber-conversion. In Pete's World, the native Cybermen were unfamiliar with the Tenth Doctor's binary vascular system and classed it as an "unknown upgrade". (TV: The Age of Steel [+]Loading...["The Age of Steel (TV story)"])

In Time Lords[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Ninth Doctor's hearts, side by side. (TV: Dalek [+]Loading...["Dalek (TV story)"])

Time Lords' second hearts were not merely a biological quirk, but were their metaphysical tie to Gallifrey itself. Keeping them connected to Gallifrey at the centre of the Web of Time, it was the possession of this second heart with allowed them to easily navigate deep time without adverse effects to their own wellbeing. (PROSE: The Adventuress of Henrietta Street [+]Loading...["The Adventuress of Henrietta Street (novel)"])

A Time Lord's regenerative process was intimately linked to their hearts. Time Lords from Oldblood Houses had only one heart until they regenerated for the first time; (PROSE: The Man in the Velvet Mask [+]Loading...["The Man in the Velvet Mask (novel)"], Christmas on a Rational Planet [+]Loading...["Christmas on a Rational Planet (novel)"], AUDIO: Time in Office [+]Loading...["Time in Office (audio story)"]) one Time Lord whose body was examined by the Fifth Doctor on Gallifrey had a single heart, (COMIC: Blood Invocation [+]Loading...["Blood Invocation (comic story)"]) and the First Doctor himself was seen to have only one heart, (TV: The Edge of Destruction [+]Loading...["The Edge of Destruction (TV story)"]) although contemporary accounts tended to depict the Doctor as being, in fact, human. (TV: The Sensorites [+]Loading...["The Sensorites (TV story)"], PROSE: The Dream Masters [+]Loading...["The Dream Masters (short story)"], The Lair of Zarbi Supremo [+]Loading...["The Lair of Zarbi Supremo (short story)"], etc.) In contrast, members of Newblood Houses were Loomed with both hearts. (PROSE: Christmas on a Rational Planet [+]Loading...["Christmas on a Rational Planet (novel)"])

Regeneration could be completely stopped — and the Time Lord was therefore killed immediately, regardless of how many lives they had left — if both hearts were pierced or shot simultaneously. Andred and Serena were both killed in this manner, (AUDIO: Imperiatrix [+]Loading...["Imperiatrix (audio story)"], PROSE: World Game [+]Loading...["World Game (novel)"]) while Cavis was permanently killed when, during regeneration, her enemy stabbed both her original heart and the place where the second one would grow. (PROSE: The Shadows of Avalon [+]Loading...["The Shadows of Avalon (novel)"]) The Bruce Master, having already gravely wounded the Eighth Doctor by shooting him in one of his hearts, threatened to take out the other if he attempted to regenerate. (AUDIO: Day of the Master [+]Loading...["Day of the Master (audio story)"]) Brooke 2 of the Kovarian Chapter carried a regeneration inhibitor firearm capable of producing double blasts to take out a binary vascular system, which she used to kill H-One. (AUDIO: The Furies [+]Loading...["The Furies (audio story)"]) Missy recommended eight snipers, with three trained on each of her hearts and two for her brain stem, so that Clara Oswald could feel safe while speaking to her, noting that they'd have to "switch [her] off fast" before she could regenerate. (TV: The Magician's Apprentice [+]Loading...["The Magician's Apprentice (TV story)"])

▶︎
YouTube
The Tenth Doctor survives a blow to his left heart because he had another. (TV: The Shakespeare Code)

A Gallifreyan could survive with only one heart, though he or she would be weakened greatly. (PROSE: Managra [+]Loading...["Managra (novel)"], TV: The Shakespeare Code [+]Loading...["The Shakespeare Code (TV story)"], AUDIO: City of Spires [+]Loading...["City of Spires (audio story)"]) When one of the Third Doctor's hearts momentarily stopped, the Master warned him he was "within an inch of dying." (TV: The Mind of Evil [+]Loading...["The Mind of Evil (TV story)"]) After the Eighth Doctor's second heart was extracted from his chest, he was unable to process drugs or use his respiratory bypass system, and to compensate, his remaining heart had to beat at a worryingly rapid pulse and was prone to fatigue. (PROSE: The Adventuress of Henrietta Street [+]Loading...["The Adventuress of Henrietta Street (novel)"], Hope [+]Loading...["Hope (novel)"], Anachrophobia [+]Loading...["Anachrophobia (novel)"]) During the Last Great Time War, at least one Time Lord spy had her second heart removed from her body. (AUDIO: A Heart on Both Sides [+]Loading...["A Heart on Both Sides (audio story)"]) One of the Tenth Doctor's hearts stopped beating while he was recovering from regeneration, (TV: The Christmas Invasion [+]Loading...["The Christmas Invasion (TV story)"]) and the Eleventh Doctor claimed that he wouldn't survive much longer after one of his hearts was stopped by a Shakri cube. (TV: The Power of Three [+]Loading...["The Power of Three (TV story)"]) The Eleventh Doctor once thanked a group of humans for helping him from the "bottoms of his hearts". (PROSE: Hello! [+]Loading...["Hello! (short story)"])

When Sabbath implanted the Eighth Doctor's second heart in his own chest, it endowed him with the ability to penetrate "deep time" (i.e., travelling further away from his homeworld than should be possible), simultaneously creating a link between the Doctor and Sabbath that meant that the Doctor would survive grievous wounds as his heart was still beating in Sabbath, until Sabbath tore the heart out of his own chest, its "death" allowing the Doctor to grow a new one. (PROSE: The Adventuress of Henrietta Street [+]Loading...["The Adventuress of Henrietta Street (novel)"], Hope [+]Loading...["Hope (novel)"], Camera Obscura [+]Loading...["Camera Obscura (novel)"])

In other species[[edit] | [edit source]]

As Time Lords from an alternate timeline, the Word Lords also had a binary vascular system. (AUDIO: The Word Lord [+]Loading...["The Word Lord (audio story)"])

In the Mutter's Spiral galaxy, a few monopod species and a drone species had two hearts. (PROSE: Tragedy Day [+]Loading...["Tragedy Day (novel)"])

The Second Doctor once encountered another double-hearted humanoid species called the Dulcians. His own binary vascular system led the Dominators to believe he was a Dulcian. (TV: The Dominators [+]Loading...["The Dominators (TV story)"])

The Tremas Master, in his stolen Trakenite body, was recognised by the medical robot 2B to have a "dual circulatory system", though he was disguising himself as the Fourth Doctor at the time. (PROSE: A Master of Disguise [+]Loading...["A Master of Disguise (short story)"])

The Eighth Doctor met the Kulan, another race whose overall stamina seemed to be improved over humans by their two hearts. (PROSE: Escape Velocity [+]Loading...["Escape Velocity (novel)"])

The Kirithons were genetically engineered by the Panjistri to have two hearts. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Apocalypse [+]Loading...["Timewyrm: Apocalypse (novel)"])

The Apalapucians, residents of Apalapucia, had two hearts. Chen-7, also known as the 1 Day Plague, only affected species with binary vascular systems. (TV: The Girl Who Waited [+]Loading...["The Girl Who Waited (TV story)"])

The inhabitants of Skale had two hearts. (PROSE: Parallel 59 [+]Loading...["Parallel 59 (novel)"])

When Henry van Statten performed an invasive scan of the Ninth Doctor in 2012, he marvelled at the design and enthusiastically announced he was going to patent it. (TV: Dalek [+]Loading...["Dalek (TV story)"]) Humans genetically introduced a second heart many Segments prior to circa 10,000,000, with Rhos claiming that it had been introduced "in case of malfunction to the first one", with "several vital organs [having] been duplicated for the same reason", such as the liver. (PROSE: The Ark [+]Loading...["The Ark (novelisation)"]) The introduction of a second heart and secondary cervical trachea in "most individuals", alongside the removal of the appendix, was dated by the Multiplicity Central Digital Overview Index's entry on Belgian Gerench to the 45th century. (PROSE: {{esquivalience}} [+]Loading...["Esquivalience (novel)","'\"`UNIQ--nowiki-00000077-QINU`\"'"])

Baris, a fan of the Tenth Doctor, had a second heart fitted so he could resemble him more. (PROSE: The Doctor Trap [+]Loading...["The Doctor Trap (novel)"])

One of Meepkind, the Meep had two hearts. (TV: The Star Beast [+]Loading...["The Star Beast (TV story)"])

Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Christiaan Barnard, the surgeon who performed the first human-to-human heart transplant, also created the heterotopic heart transplant (also known as piggybank transplant), in which instead of removing the faulty heart, a second heart is added, effectively creating a binary vascular system in the patient being operated upon. This surgery is very rare, being rendered largely obsolete as cardiothoracic surgery has become more advanced. Today is usually used as a placeholder before a more permanent transplant can be carried out, but a small number of humans are indeed a little bit closer to being a Time Lord than most of us.

Information from invalid sources[[edit] | [edit source]]

Marceline the Vampire Queen once asked the Doctor if she could drink one of his hearts, believing that he did not need both of them. (GAME: LEGO Dimensions)

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