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 physiology needed to pump the blood through the systemic circulation. Atria facilitate circulation primarily by allowing uninterrupted venous flow to the heart, preventing the inertia of interrupted venous flow that would otherwise occur at each ventricular systole. Cardiac muscle tissue has autorhythmicity, the unique ability to initiate a cardiac action potential at a fixed rate – spreading the impulse rapidly from cell to cell to trigger the contraction of the entire heart. This autorhythmicity is still modulated by the endocrine and nervous systems. There are two types of cardiac muscle cell: cardiomyocytes which have the ability to contract easily, and modified