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Cable Properties and Conduction of the Action Potential

Excitability, Sources, and Sinks

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Physiology and Pathophysiology of the Heart

Part of the book series: Developments in Cardiovascular Medicine ((DICM,volume 34))

Abstract

Cardiac excitability has a certain intuitive meaning suggesting the ease with which cardiac cells undergo individual and sequential regenerative depolarization and repolarization, communicate with each other, and propagate electrical activity in a normal or abnormal manner. The heartbeat arises from a highly organized control of ionic flow through channels in the cardiac membrane, the myoplasm, the gap junctions between cells, and the extracellular space. These bioelectrical events are regulated within very tight limits to allow the coordinated propagation of excitation and contraction of the heart that is necessary for an efficient cardiac output. Abnormalities in the regulatory mechanisms often accompany cardiac disease.

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Authors
  1. Morton F. Arnsdorf
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, University of Cincinnati Medical Center, 231 Bethesda Avenue, 45267, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

    Nicholas Sperelakis

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Arnsdorf, M.F. (1984). Cable Properties and Conduction of the Action Potential. In: Sperelakis, N. (eds) Physiology and Pathophysiology of the Heart. Developments in Cardiovascular Medicine, vol 34. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-1171-4_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-1171-4_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-1173-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-1171-4

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