Walter gaskell and the understanding of atrioventricular conduction and block

Walter Holbrook Gaskell was a nineteenth-century British physiologist whose investigations from 1874 until 1889 became central to our current understanding of cardiac physiology. His many cardiac contributions include the following: 1) the recognition of certain inherent properties of cardiac muscle...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the American College of Cardiology 2002-05, Vol.39 (10), p.1574-1580
Main Authors: Silverman, Mark E, Upshaw, Charles B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anatomy & physiology
Animals
Awards & honors
Biological and medical sciences
Cardiac dysrhythmias
Cardiology
Cardiology. Vascular system
Careers
Electrocardiography - history
England
Gaskell
Heart
Heart - physiology
Heart Block - history
Heart Block - physiopathology
History, 19th Century
History, 20th Century
Hospitals
Humans
Medical research
Medical sciences
Musculoskeletal system
Pathology
Physiology - history
Sinuses
Studies
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Summary:Walter Holbrook Gaskell was a nineteenth-century British physiologist whose investigations from 1874 until 1889 became central to our current understanding of cardiac physiology. His many cardiac contributions include the following: 1) the recognition of certain inherent properties of cardiac muscle; 2) the experimental proof that led to the acceptance of the myogenic theory of the origin of the heartbeat; 3) the mapping of the anatomy of the sympathetic nervous system; 4) the understanding of the dual autonomic control of the heart; 5) the discovery of the vasodilating effect of sympathetic stimulation on blood flow through skeletal muscle arteries; and 6) the introduction of the concept of heart block. Gaskell’s elucidation of the sequence of cardiac contraction and atrioventricular block and his concepts of rhythmicity, excitability, contractility, conductivity and tonicity provided the physiologic explanation necessary for the future understanding of cardiac rhythm disturbances.
ISSN:0735-1097
1558-3597
DOI:10.1016/S0735-1097(02)01839-9