The electrical impulses initiated by the SA node are conducted along the myocardial cells of the atria via

specialized tracts called internodal pathways

AV node, which is located in the right atrial wall near the tricuspid valve (see Fig. 25-3). The AV node
coordinates the incoming electrical impulses from the atria and after a slight delay (allowing the atria
time to contract and complete ventricular filling) relays the impulse to the ventricles.
Initially, the impulse is conducted through a bundle of specialized conducting tissue, referred to as the
bundle of His, which then divides into the right bundle branch (conducting impulses to the right
ventricle) and the left bundle branch (conducting impulses to the left ventricle). T

Impulses travel through the bundle branches to reach the terminal point in the conduction system,
called the Purkinje fibers. These fibers are composed of Purkinje cells that rapidly conduct impulses
throughout the thick walls of the ventricles. This action stimulates the ventricular myocardial cells to
contract

the SA node has the highest inherent rate (60 to 100 impulses per minute), the AV node has the second-
highest inherent rate (40 to 60 impulses per minute), and the ventricular pacemaker sites have the
lowest inherent rate (30 to 40 impulses per minute)

This exchange of ions creates a positively charged intracellular space and a negatively charged
extracellular space that characterizes the period known as depolarization.

Once depolarization is complete, the exchange of ions reverts to its resting state; this period is known as
repolarization.

The repeated cycle of depolarization and repolarization is called the cardiac action potential