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The Cardiac Conduction System

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Book cover Handbook of Cardiac Anatomy, Physiology, and Devices

Abstract

The intrinsic conduction system of the heart is comprised of several specialized subpopulations of cells that either spontaneously generate electrical activity (pacemaker cells) or preferentially conduct this activity throughout the chambers in a coordinated fashion. This chapter will discuss the details of this known anatomy as well as put such discoveries into a historical context. The cardiac action potential underlies signaling within the heart, and the various populations of myocytes will elicit signature waveforms. The recording or active sensing of these potentials is important in both research and clinical arenas. This chapter aims to present a basic understanding of the cardiac conduction system to provide the reader with a foundation for future research and reading on this topic. The information in this chapter is not comprehensive and should not be used to make decisions relating to patient care.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Medtronic Training and Education and Gorinka Shrivastav for graphical support; Rebecca Rose, DVM, Louanne Cheever, and Alexander Hill, PhD, of Medtronic for the histological sectioning and staining; Anthony Weinhaus, PhD, for additional details on atrial anatomy; and Igor Efimov, PhD, from George Washington University for 3D images of the human atrioventricular node.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Timothy G. Laske PhD & Paul A. Iaizzo PhD

  2. Medtronic plc, 8200 Coral Sea Street NE, MVS 46, Minneapolis, MN, 55112, USA

    Timothy G. Laske PhD & Maneesh Shrivastav PhD

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  1. Timothy G. Laske PhD
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  2. Maneesh Shrivastav PhD
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  3. Paul A. Iaizzo PhD
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Correspondence to Timothy G. Laske PhD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. B172 Mayo, MMC 195, University of Minnesota Department of Surgery, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

    Paul A. Iaizzo

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Laske, T.G., Shrivastav, M., Iaizzo, P.A. (2015). The Cardiac Conduction System. In: Iaizzo, P. (eds) Handbook of Cardiac Anatomy, Physiology, and Devices. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19464-6_13

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