Sinoatrial nodal artery Sinoatrial nodal artery The sinoatrial nodal artery (or sinuatrial nodal artery or sinoatrial artery) is an artery of the heart which supplies the sinoatrial node, the natural pacemaker center of the heart, and arises from the right coronary artery in around 60% of people. In about 40% of cases, the sinoatrial artery is a branch of the left circumflex coronary artery. In less than 1% of humans, the artery has an anomalous origin directly from the coronary sinus, descending aorta, or distal right coronary artery. In more than 50% of human hearts, the artery actually courses close to the superior
Sinoatrial node superior vena cava and the inferior vena cava. The cells of the SA node are spread out within a mesh of connective tissue, containing nerves, blood vessels, collagen and fat. Immediately surrounding the SA node cells are paranodal cells. These cells have structures intermediate between that of the SA node cells and the rest of the atrium. The connective tissue, along with the paranodal cells, insulate the SA node from the rest of the atrium, preventing the electrical activity of the atrial cells from affecting the SA node cells. The SA node cells are smaller and paler than the surrounding