| Question |
 |
|
| Answer |
|
|
| What structure joins cardiac muscle cells? |
Intercalated disks |
| Intercalated disks contain many what? |
gap junctions |
| What is a gap junction? |
A special intercellular connection between two cells that allow AP to pass freely between the two cells |
| What do gap junctions function as? |
Functional syncitium |
| What is a functional syncitium? |
The individual cell function as one unit |
| Why can the 2 atria function as one functional unit? |
The gap junctions allow the action potential to cause both the right and left sides of the atria to contract at the same time they also relax at the same time |
| Why can the 2 ventricles function as a syncytium? |
The gap junctions allow the action potentials to allow both the right and the left side of the ventricles to contract at the same time they also relax at the same time |
| Why do the atria and ventricles function as two separate units? |
They are separated by a fibroskeleton which has no gap junctions therefore does not allow the action potentials through |
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