AP BIOLOGY

LABORATORY REVIEW

PHYSIOLOGY OF THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
The pacemaker cell or SA node where heart conduction begins in in the ____ of the heart
A
Left Ventricle
B
Left Atrium
C
Right Ventricle
D
Right Atrium
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -SA node (sinoatrial node) – known as the heart’s natural pacemaker. The impulse starts in a small bundle of specialized cells located in the right atrium, called the SA node. The electrical activity spreads through the walls of the atria and causes them to contract. This forces blood into the ventricles.

Detailed explanation-2: -The SA node, also known as the sinus node, represents a crescent-like shaped cluster of myocytes divided by connective tissue, spreading over a few square millimeters. It is located at the junction of the crista terminalis in the upper wall of the right atrium and the opening of the superior vena cava.

Detailed explanation-3: -The SA node starts the sequence by causing the atrial muscles to contract. That’s why doctors sometimes call it the anatomical pacemaker. Next, the signal travels to the AV node, through the bundle of HIS, down the bundle branches, and through the Purkinje fibers, causing the ventricles to contract.

Detailed explanation-4: -The SA node is in the upper part of your heart’s right atrium. It is at the edge of your atrium near your superior vena cava (vein that brings oxygen-poor blood from your body to your heart). Your autonomic nervous system controls how fast or slowly your SA node sends electrical signals.

Detailed explanation-5: -The sinoatrial node (SA node) is a specialized myocardial structure that initiates the electrical impulses to stimulate contraction, and is found in the atrial wall at the junction of superior caval vein and the right atrium (Mikawa and Hurtado, 2007).

There is 1 question to complete.