Premium
Development of the Conduction System of the Heart
Author(s) -
MOORMAN ANTOON F.M.,
JONG FRITS,
LAMERS WOUTER H.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
pacing and clinical electrophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.686
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1540-8159
pISSN - 0147-8389
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-8159.1997.tb03634.x
Subject(s) - medicine , electrical conduction system of the heart , ventricle , anatomy , atrium (architecture) , heart development , myocyte , mesoderm , contraction (grammar) , cardiology , electrocardiography , embryonic stem cell , biochemistry , gene , atrial fibrillation , chemistry
The muscle cells forming the myocardium and the muscle cells forming the intestinal smooth muscle layers, are both derived from the visceral mesoderm. All cardiomyocytes display autorhythmicity, intercellular conduction via gap junctions, and contraction, irrespective whether they are derived from atrium, ventricle, node, or bundies. It is the anatomical arrangement of the distinct components that is responsible for the coordinate contraction wave over the heart. These very basic principles have been insufficiently appreciated in most studies on the development of the conduction sytem, by which it got unnoticed that the proper anatomical arrangement is, in essence, layed down very early in development in the cardiac tube. In this review we will summarize recent immunohistochemical studies that have permitted this appreciation. *