Cardiovascular System: Cardiac Conduction System
Overview
The cardiac conduction system comprises nodes and pathways that conduct electrical impulses in the heart. The sinoatrial (SA) node acts as the pacemaker which can be influenced by the body’s needs such that occur during exercise or rest. The nervous system modulates heart rate, with the sympathetic system increasing heart rate and the parasympathetic system slowing it down. Synchronized contraction of the heart’s atria and ventricles coordinate to match the body’s demands.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, students will be able to:
- explain the basic principles of cardiac conduction,
- explain the role of the sinoatrial (SA) node, atrioventricular (AV) node, and
- describe the pathways of electrical impulses through the heart.
Video Review
Watch the video: Short Topic Video: The Cardiac Conduction System (2 minutes)
Activities
Flash Cards
Conduction Pathway
Question Sets
Conduction System of the Heart
Chapter Attributions
This chapter by Elisabeth Kehrli and Anil Kapoor is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license.
Media Attributions
Short Topic Video: The Cardiac Conduction System by DrBruce Forciea is licensed under the Standard YouTube license.
Interactive Activity Attributions
The interactive activities in this chapter are from Interactive Activities for Human Anatomy and Physiology by Open Education Lab, Ontario Tech University, and are licensed under a CC BY NC SA 4.0 license.