Cardiovascular System - Cardiac Action Potential & Electrocardiogram Flashcards
cardiac cycle
alternating contraction and relaxation of cardiac muscle (myocardium)
cardiac muscle fibers
- smaller/shorter
- branched ends (connect to each other)
- one or two nuclei
cardiac muscle tissue (2 components)
- syncytium
- gap junctions
syncytium
multinucleate mass of cytoplasm resulting from fusion of cells
gap junctions
conduct the action potential to neighbouring cells
cardiac vs skeletal muscle cells
- both striated
- involuntary vs voluntarily
- 10-20um diameter vs 20-100um
- 50-100um in length vs mm to cm in length
- 1-2 nuclei vs hundreds
- often branch vs do not branch
- connect to neighbouring cells vs fuse with tendons
- many mitochondria vs few
3 types of muscle tissue in myocardium
- atrial muscle
- ventricular muscle
- specialized muscle tissue coordinates electrical signals (conduction system of heart)
conduction system of heart
“an automatic electrical system controls contraction of heart”
- sinoatrial (SA) node
- atrioventricular (AV) node
- bundle of His
- bundle branches (right and left)
- Purkinje fibers
SA node
pacemaker
AV node
delays transmission of signal
bundle of His and ramifications
conducts signal to ventricles
main phases of action potential **
- resting membrane potential
- threshold potential
- depolarization
- depolarization
- hyperpolarization
- refractory period
- inward and outward currents
heterogeneity of cardiac action potential **
- heart is heterogeneous with respect to cell type
- these different cells have different versions of their action potential
(slide 14)
phases of action potential in SA node
“SA nodal cells spontaneously generate action potential
0. upstroke/depolarization
1/2. absent
3. pacemaker potential
characteristics of action potential in SA node
- automaticity (spontaneously generate action potentials without neural inputs)
- unstable resting membrane potential
- no sustained plateau