Abstract
THE mode of propagation of the wave of contraction in the wall of the heart was thought, up to fifty years ago, to take place along nerve trunks. Gaskell was the first (1882) to show definitely that not only does the heart-beat arise spontaneously in muscle cells but also that the conduction of the excitation from one part of the heart wall to another takes place by muscular tissue. No difficulty was encountered in demonstrating that muscular continuity existed in the case of the lower vertebrates such as the frog and the tortoise. It was generally believed, however, that no such muscular continuity existed between the auricles and ventricles of the mammal; thus, in the human heart, auricle and ventricle on. each side were supposed to be united solely by a fibrous ring.
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Conduction of the Heart-beat. Nature 126, 629 (1930). https://doi.org/10.1038/126629a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/126629a0