Cardiovascular System: Cardiac Conduction Terms

the pacemaker; highly specialized neurological tissue, embedded in the wall of the right atrium, repsonsible for initiating electrical conduction of the heartbeat, causing the atria to contract and firing conduction of impulses to the AV node

neurological tissue in the center of the heart that receives and amplifies the conduction of impulses from the SA node to the bundle of His

neurological fibers, extending from the AV node to the right and left bundle branches, that fire the impulse from the AV node to the Purkinje fibers

fibers in the ventricles that transmit impulses to the right and left ventricles, causing them to contract

resting; resting state of a myocardial cell

change of a myocardial cell from a polarized (resting) state to a state of contraction

recharging of the myocardial cell from a contracted state back to a resting state

regular rhythm of the heart cycle stimulated by the SA node (average rate of 60 to 100 beats/minute)