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The cells that make up the SA node are specialized cardiomyocytes known as pacemaker cells that can spontaneously generate cardiac action potentials. These signals are propagated through the heart's electrical conduction system. [1][2] Only one percent of the heart muscle cells are conductive, the rest of the cardiomyocytes are contractile.
The cardiomyocytes make up the bulk (99%) of cells in the atria and ventricles. These contractile cells respond to impulses of action potential from the pacemaker cells and are responsible for the contractions that pump blood through the body. The pacemaker cells make up just (1% of cells) and form the conduction system of the heart.
Rate dependence of the action potential is a fundamental property of cardiac cells and alterations can lead to severe cardiac diseases including cardiac arrhythmia and sometimes sudden death. [3] Action potential activity within the heart can be recorded to produce an electrocardiogram (ECG). This is a series of upward and downward spikes ...
Cardiac excitation-contraction coupling (Cardiac EC coupling) describes the series of events, from the production of an electrical impulse (action potential) to the contraction of muscles in the heart. [1] This process is of vital importance as it allows for the heart to beat in a controlled manner, without the need for conscious input.
The cardiac conduction system (CCS, also called the electrical conduction system of the heart) [1] transmits the signals generated by the sinoatrial node – the heart 's pacemaker, to cause the heart muscle to contract, and pump blood through the body's circulatory system. The pacemaking signal travels through the right atrium to the ...
Depiction of smooth muscle contraction. Muscle contraction is the activation of tension -generating sites within muscle cells. [1][2] In physiology, muscle contraction does not necessarily mean muscle shortening because muscle tension can be produced without changes in muscle length, such as when holding something heavy in the same position. [1 ...
Cardiac muscle. Cardiac muscle (also called heart muscle or myocardium) is one of three types of vertebrate muscle tissues, the others being skeletal muscle and smooth muscle. It is an involuntary, striated muscle that constitutes the main tissue of the wall of the heart. The cardiac muscle (myocardium) forms a thick middle layer between the ...
9477. Anatomical terminology. [edit on Wikidata] The sinoatrial node (also known as the sinuatrial node, SA node or sinus node) is an oval shaped region of special cardiac muscle in the upper back wall of the right atrium made up of cells known as pacemaker cells. The sinus node is approximately 15 mm long, 3 mm wide, and 1 mm thick, located ...