Bachmann's bundle
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Bachmann's bundle, also known as the anterior interatrial band, is a broad band of atrial muscle that runs just behind the ascending aorta and connects the top of the right atrium with the top of the left atrium. Bachmann's bundle is, during normal sinus rhythm, the preferential path for electrical activation of the left atrium. It is therefore considered as part of the atrial conduction system of the heart.
Interatrial conduction
The normal cardiac rhythm originates in the sinoatrial node, which is located in the right ventricle near the superior caval vein. From there, the electrical activation spreads over the right atrium. There are at least four different locations where the activation can pass to the left atrium. Apart from Bachmann's bundle these are the anterior interatrial septum, posterior interatrial septum, and the coronary sinus.[1]. Because it originates close to the sinoatrial node and consists of long parallel fibers, Bachmann's bundle is, during sinus rhythm, the first of these connections to activate the left atrium.
Bachmann's bundle and the atrial conduction system
Besides Bachmann's bundle, the other three conduction tracts that constitute the atrial conduction system are known as the anterior, middle, and posterior tracts, which run from the Sinoatrial Node to the atrioventricular node, converging in the region near the coronary sinus. Atrial automaticity foci are within the atrial conduction system. The concentration of converging conduction tracts near the coronary sinus results in considerable automaticity activity originating in that area.
See also
References
- ^ Sakamoto, S-I; et al. (2005). "Interatrial Electrical Connections: The Precise Location and Preferential Conduction". Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology. 16: 1077–1086. doi:10.1111/j.1540-8167.2005.40659.x.
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