Explain The Normal Physiology Of The Hearts Electrical System

Words: 600
Pages: 3

The heart, arguably one of the most vital organs in the body, beating at about 72 beats per minute it provides sustenance to our body’s tissues through muscle contractions. Without this, your body cannot carry out its normal bodily functions and you will eventually lose all consciousness. In this paper I will discuss the normal physiology of the hearts electrical system and how it contracts to pump blood through our bodies to keep us alive.

The human heart has its own electrical system which starts with a signal that is generated (usually) by the sinoatrial node (SA) which then travels through the right atrium and into the atrioventricular node (AV). The signal does this due to the fact that between the SA and AV nodes is the only place in the fibrous capsule that does not absorb the action potential, it will instead send the action potential downward towards the apex which will eventually build enough pressure to open the valves. Once it travels through the atrioventricular node it will travel along the Bundle of His, through the bundle branches which will then cause contraction of the heart. The aforementioned signal will cause a contraction that will first contract in the right and left atrium and then the right and left ventricles.
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Once the cardiac cell is depolarized, it is sent along the whole length of the sarcolemma as the wave of depolarization is spread to the adjacent areas of the sarcolemma. Depolarization is due to the influx of sodium flowing through the sodium channels. After sodium flows into the cell the sodium channels close and the potassium channels open thus releasing potassium out of the cell which makes the membrane potential return to