Question

What is a myogenic heart? Describe the mechanism regulating the heartbeat in mammals.

Answer 1

Myogenic heart found in vertebrates where rhythmic contractions takes place which are an an intrinsic property of the cardiac muscle cells themselves.

In mammals heart circulates a huge volume of blood over its lifetime. The blood travels through the four heart chambers. One of these chambers, the right atrium, contains the sinus node, which acts as the pacemaker for the heart. The body's nervous system, neurotransmitters and hormones regulate the sinus node and play a huge role in how the body regulates heart rate.

Each contraction of the heart muscle regulates the flow of blood in the form of a pulse or heart rate. The pulse is measured in beats per minute. Emotional and physical stress, exercise and other physical activities affect the heart rate because the blood needs to travel faster through the body to cope with the demand for oxygen.