The sequence of conduction through the intraventricular conducting system and endocardial muscle was studied by microelectrode mapping of large areas of isolated canine ventricular tissue. We found that most of the endocardium of the right ventricular free wall is activated simultaneously whereas the left endocardial muscle is activated in an apex-to-base sequence. Right septal activation is from apex to base, and the left septum is activated first at the junction of the middle and lower thirds of the septum and then as a bidirectional wave front toward the apex and the base. These right-left differences occur because the sites of impulse input into muscle on the right encompass the entire free wall, base of the papillary muscle, and the lowermost septum, and on the left are primarily limited to the lower ventricular cavity, lower septum, and bases of the papillary muscles. These patterns of left ventricular excitation relate to the presence of a functionally continuous ring of conducting tissue formed by a merger of the major divisions of the left bundle branch on the upper left ventricular free wall. The "ring" itself is electrophysiologically isolated from muscle, but connects to a network of subendocardial conducting tissue extending to the apex and having input to muscle only in its lower portions.
KEY WORDSAV conduction papillary muscles bundle branches conducting system Purkinje fibers cardiac electrophysiology septal activation myocardial activation ventricular muscle• The relationship between the anatomy of the intraventricular portion of the AV conducting system and the physiology of AV conduction and ventricular excitation is pertinent to our understanding of major areas of cardiac electrophysiology. The nature and location of impulse input from the intraventricular conducting system into the ventricular myocardium, the physiological interactions between conducting tissue and ordinary muscle cells, and the sequence of activation of the endocar-Downloaded from curred, but the apex-to-base muscle activation persisted. White numbers on black background = conducting cells; black numbers on white background = muscle cells.