November 17, 2012- The heart has it's own electrical system to ensure it maintains a regular rhythm. The sinoatrial (SA) node is in the heart's right chamber and serves as the heart's pacemaker. It is composed of special cells that generate electrical impulses like spark plugs in a car engine. The atrial ventricular node (AV), located in the center, picks up signals from the SA node and passes them to the rest of the heart. It acts like a filter, letting each beat travel to the lower chambers of the heart. The His-Purkinje system is a bundle of fibers that carries electricity through the lower chambers of the heart (the ventricles) and causes those chambers to contract, pushing blood to the rest of the body and through the vascular system.
Some scientists believe the heart has it's own thought life and ability to feel and produce emotion. This is different than past thinking in that it was always believed the brain was responsible for these functions.
No comments:
Post a Comment