The Atrioventricular Conduction System in Two Cases of Tricuspid Atresia

Abstract

The morphology of the atrioventricular (A-V) conduction system was studied by serial histologic section in two cases of tricuspid atresia type IB (without transposition of the great arteries, with subpulmonary stenosis). The A-V node was adjacent to the central fibrous body, and its location was indicated by a "dimple" in the floor of the right atrium. The left bundle branches originated unusually close to the nodal-bundle junction. The right bundle branch was markedly elongated in its course to the right septal endocardium. It was situated along the inferior aspect of the channel-like ventricular septal defect as it traversed the septum. The early origin of the left bundle branches and the markedly elongated course of the right bundle branch were such that, theoretically, abnormal spread of the activation wave might result.