Potential changes attending the excitation process in the atrioventricular conduction system of bovine and canine hearts. (Abstr.) Circulation 18: 767

Potential changes attending excitation of the atrioventricular node, the common bundle, the bundle branches, and initial ramifications of the conducting tissue in the subendo-eardium of the bovine heart beating in situ have been recorded from unipolar exploring electrodes. Correlations between the form of nodal deflection and the location in the node of the electrode tip have been established. Prom right bundle branch and subendo-cardial action potentials, data were derived indicating a rate of transmission through the right branch of 2.02 M/sec. Certain observations on the effects of acute injury and severe hypoxia are recorded. The character of nodal deflections attending retrograde excitation is reviewed. In studies on canine hearts beating in situ, eleetrograms have been made from the regions in which the atrioventricular node, the common bundle, and bundle brandies are believed to lie. Deflections comparable to those recorded in bovine experiments were encountered and, by analogy with those bovine studies, certain morphologic correlations postulated. In general, canine nodal deflections are smaller than their bovine counter-parts and lack the variety of form ascribed to potential changes in the several portion