New Light on the Mechanism of the Auricular Arrhythmias

Editorial1 April 1950NEW LIGHT ON THE MECHANISM OF THE AURICULAR ARRHYTHMIASH. J. L. M.H. J. L. M.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-32-4-778 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptSince the theory that circus movement was the mechanism underlying auricular flutter and fibrillation was first advanced and set on an apparently sound experimental basis by Lewis nearly 30 years ago, his teaching has been widely accepted and incorporated in most textbooks of physiology, pharmacology, medicine and cardiology. Only an occasional, and for the most part unheeded, voice has been raised in disagreement. But Prinzmetal and his colleagues, at the Institute for Medical Research in Los Angeles, have recently advocated an alternate concept of the genesis of these arrhythmias and backed it with what appears to be incontrovertible proof. In...1 PrinzmetalCordayBrillSellersOblathFliegKruger MEICALRWWAHE: Mechanism of the auricular arrhythmias, Circulation 1: 241, 1950. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2 Lewis T: The mechanism and graphic registration of the heart beat, 4th Ed., 1925, Shaw and Sons, Ltd., London. Google Scholar3 Mayer AG: Rhythmical pulsation in scyphomedusae, Papers from the Tortugas Laboratory, Washington 1: 115, 1908. Google Scholar4 Mines GR: On circulating excitations in heart muscle and their possible relation to tachycardia and fibrillation, Trans. Roy. Soc. Canada 8: 43, 1914. Google Scholar5 Garrey W: The nature of fibrillary contraction of the heart. Its relation to tissue mass and form, Am. J. Physiol. 33: 397, 1914. CrossrefGoogle Scholar6 Personal communication. Google Scholar7 Matthews SA: A study of the action of aconitine on the mammalian heart and circulation, J. Exper. Med. 2: 593, 1897. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8 Scherf D: Studies on auricular tachycardia caused by aconitine administration, Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol. and Med. 64: 233, 1947. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar9 ScherfRomanoTerranova DFJR: Experimental studies on auricular flutter and auricular fibrillation, Am. Heart J. 36: 241, 1948. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar10 Gold H: Quinidine in disorders of the heart, 1950, Paul B. Hoeber, Inc. N. Y. Google Scholar11 McMichael J: The pharmacology of the failing heart, Brit. Med. J. 2: 927, 1948. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar12 Leading Article, Brit. Med. J. 2: 947, 1948. MedlineGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byElectrocardiographic and clinical features of spontaneous auricular fibrillation and flutter (tachycardia) in dogs: Comparison with spontaneous auricular fibrillation and flutter in other species and with experimentally induced arrhythmias in dogs 1 April 1950Volume 32, Issue 4Page: 778-783KeywordsArrhythmiaAtrial fibrillationPharmacology ePublished: 1 December 2008 Issue Published: 1 April 1950 PDF downloadLoading ...