Cardiac pacemaker controls the rate of contraction for the entire heart muscle because its cells have the quickest rate of spontaneous depolarization, thus they initiate action potentials the quickest. The action potential generated by the SA node passes down the electrical conduction system of the heart, and depolarizes the other potential pacemaker cells (AV node) to initiate action potentials before these other cells have had a chance to generate their own spontaneous action potential, thus they contract and propagate electrical impulses to the pace set by the cells of the SA node. This is the normal conduction of electrical activity in the
Cardiac neural crest cells to replace the necrotic tissue. Cardiac neural crest cells Neural crest cells are a group of temporary, multipotent (can give rise to some other types of cells but not all) cells that are pinched off during the formation of the neural tube (precursor to the spinal cord and brain) and therefore are found at the dorsal (top) region of the neural tube during development. They are derived from the ectoderm germ layer, but are sometimes called the fourth germ layer because they are so important and give rise to so many other types of cells. They migrate throughout the body