Translations:Herz/134/en

The atrioventricular node is also called the nodus atrioventricularis, AV node or Aschoff-Tawara node. It is the secondary pacemaker centre of the heart. The AV node is 5 mm long, 3 mm wide and 1 mm thick and is located in the right atrium. Its exact location is at the base of the atrial septum before the confluence of the coronary sinus. This area is called the triangle of Koch. The atrioventricular node serves to regulate stimulus exaggeration via the non-conducting cardiac skeleton. It is continued by the His bundle, which continues towards the apex of the heart. The AV node is also controlled by the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Blood flow takes place through the ramus nodi atrioventricularis from the arteria coronaria dextra. Its main function is to delay the transmission of excitation to the ventricles. This ensures that the atrial contraction is completed before the ventricular contraction begins. Spontaneous excitations can also be generated by the AV node. However, these have a much lower frequency (40-50 depolarisations per minute) than the sinus node. This impulse excitation does not take place as long as the sinus node is intact.