Arch Histol Cytol, 72 (3): 139-149 (2009)

Morphological varieties of the Purkinje ﬁber network
in mammalian hearts, as revealed by light and electron
microscopy
Noriaki Ono1, Takeshi Yamaguchi2, Hajime Ishikawa3, Mitsue Arakawa4, Naohiko
Takahashi1, Tetsunori Saikawa1, and Tatsuo Shimada5
Departments of Cardiovascular Science and 5Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Oita University, Oita;
Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa; 3Institute of Cetacean Research,
Tokyo; and 4College of Nursing, Hyogo University, Akashi, Japan

1
2

Summary. Purkinje ﬁbers in mammalian hearts are known
to comprise the following three groups depending on theirstructure: group I found commonly in ungulates, group II
in humans, monkeys and dogs, and group III in rodents.
The aim of the present study was to document precisely
the cytoarchitecture of a network of Purkinje fibers in
different species by light and electron microscopy. Light
microscopy of silver impregnated tissues revealed thereticular fibers ensheathing individual Purkinje strands
consisting of 2-8 cells in both the ungulates (i.e., sheep
and goats) and cetaceans (whales and dolphins) while theyencircled each Purkinje cell in the primates (humans andmonkeys), carnivores (dogs and seals), and rodents (rats).
Scanning electron microscopy of NaOH digested tissues
showed the ungrates (group I) to have a Purkinje fiber
network composed of Purkinje strands; the cells in thestrands were oval and made side-to-side and/or end-to-end
connections. The Purkinje fiber network in the primatesand carnivores (group II) was delicate and complicated;
the Purkinje cells were usually cylindrical and connected
end-to-end, the exception being their polygonal or stellate
shapes at the bifurcations. Purkinje cells in the rodents
Received June 12, 2009
Address for correspondence: Prof. Tatsuo Shimada, MD,
Department of Health Sciences, School of Nursing, Facultyof Medicine, Oita University, 1-1 Idaigaoka, Hasama-machi,
Yufu, Oita-ken, 879-5593, Japan
Tel & Fax: +81-97-586-5032
E-mail: tshimada@med.oita-u.ac.jp(group III) resembled ventricular cardiac myocytes incytoarchitecture. Morphologically, whales and seals
respectively belonged to Purkinje cells of group I andgroup II. These findings indicate that the structuralvariety of the Purkinje fiber network may reflect the
conducting function and be related to the phylogeny ofthe mammalian species.

Introduction
In 1845, J. E. Purkinje ﬁrst discovered a net of gray, ﬂat,and gelatinous ﬁbers in the subendocardium of ventriclesof the sheep heart. He considered this to be something
like the cartilage tissue, but ﬁnally concluded that it wasa special motor apparatus consisting of muscular tissues.
Among the various ﬁndings concerning the physiologicalsignificance of Purkinje fibers, Tawara (1906)
demonstrated that Purkinje fibers ran within muscular
trabeculae as the terminal ramifications of the cardiac
conduction system and formed a large reticular network in
the hearts of humans, dogs, cows and sheep.
The network of Purkinje fibers was also visualized
by injection of India ink into the thick connective
tissue sheath of cow Purkinje fibers, which enabled
the macroscopic demonstration of the extensiveness of
Purkinje networks (Cardwell and Abramson, 1931; Ansari
et al., 1999). Thereafter, delicate networks of Purkinje
fibers was stereoscopically demonstrated in dog andsheep hearts by a modified periodic acid Schiff (PAS)method, since Purkinje cells have rich glycogen particles(Otsuka et al., 1966; Shimada et al., 1992). Furthermore,

140

N. Ono et al.:scanning electron microscopy (SEM) using chemicaldigestion techniques made it possible to visualize thethree-dimensional structure of the Purkinje ﬁber network
in sheep, goats, and cows, and reveal that Purkinje strands
consist of bundles of several oval cells and form a delicate
network in these species (Canale et al., 1986; Shimada
et al., 1983, 1984, 1986; Murakami et al., 1986). SEM
also showed that the three-dimensional architecture of theintercalated disks in Purkinje fibers differs completely
between sheep and humans (Zhang et al., 1976; Shimada
et al., 2004). In addition, Purkinje strands in the sheep
heart are surrounded by the reticular ﬁber sheath, which
probably functions as an insulator as well as a mechanicalsupport (Morita et al., 1991). Based on the mesh structureof Purkinje ﬁbers in the sheep, three-dimensional virtual
models of the Purkinje ﬁbers have recently been produced
in order to understand the electrophysiological propertiesof the heart (Iriji et al., 2008) and employed to visualize
the human Purkinje ﬁber network.
A previous review by Canale et al.(1986), on theother hand, indicated that the morphology of Purkinjecells in mammals show great variation between species,
so that the Purkinje ﬁber network could be divided into
three groups depending on the size and ultrastructure of
Purkinje cells. Group I was found in ungulates such as
sheep, goats, and cows, group II was in humans, monkeys,
dogs and cats, and group III was in mice, rats and rabbits.
Recently, studies using electrocardiograms have been
done in hearts of multiple mammalian species, fromthe mouse to whale (Noujaim et al., 2004). However,systematic studies clarifying the overall cytoarchitectureof the Purkinje ﬁber network in different species remain
to be made. Moreover, only a little information isavailable concerning the morphology of Purkinje cells inaquatic mammals (Asami, 1958; James et al., 1995).
Thus, the present study demonstrates the threedimensional architecture of the Purkinje ﬁber network invarious mammalian species including whales and seals by
light and electron microscopy and discusses the structureand function from a viewpoint of comparative histology.

Materials and Methods
All experimental procedures were done in accordancewith the guidelines of the Physiological Society of Oita
University, Japan, for the care and use of laboratory
animals, which follow the guidelines of the National
Institute of Heart (USA). Whale hearts were obtained
from whales caught under a Special Permit in the
Anta rctic, through the Second Phase of the 2005/6
Japanese Whale Research Program.

Hearts of ungulates (5 sheep and 2 goats), primates(4 humans and 5 Japanese monkeys), carnivores (3 dogs
and 2 seals), rodents (5 rats), and cetaceans (2 dolphinsand 4 whales) were used as materials. The whales were
Balaenoptera bonaerensis for investigation, of which
two were fetal hearts. The endocardial regions containing
Purkinje fibers were removed from the right and left
ventricles and subjected to the procedures described
below.
Stereo-microscopic examinations
Ventricular tissues in the hearts of sheep, humans, andwhales were ﬁxed in a mixture of 0.5% periodic acid and
10% formalin, immersed in a modified Schiff solution(Otsuka et al., 1966), and photographed using a stereomicroscope (Leica, Wild M10, Germany).
Light microscopic examinations
Specimens were cut into 5 – 10 mm squares, ﬁxed in 10%
formalin or 4% paraformaldehyde in a phosphate buffer(pH7.4), dehydrated, and embedded in paraffin. Someof the 7μm sections were stained with hematoxylin andeosin or Bielschowsky-Gomori silver staining for theidentiﬁcation of reticular ﬁbers and observed under a lightmicroscope (Nikon, Tokyo).
Scanning electron microscopic examination
For SEM, cardiac tissues were cut into approximately
5.0×5.0×0.5 cm blocks and ﬁxed in a mixture of 2.5%
glutaraldehyde and 2% paraformaldehyde (Karnovsky's
fixative) in a 0.1M cacodylate buffer (pH 7.4). Since
Purkinje ﬁbers are situated beneath the endocardium andconcealed by the reticular fiber sheath, the endocardialendothelium was removed by mechanical scraping withthe finger tip (for the ungulates, whales, humans, andseals), or by immersion in 6N NaOH for 10 min 60℃
followed by ultra-sonication (38kHz) for an additional
1min (for monkeys, dogs, and rats). Then both thesubendocardial connective tissue and the reticular fiber
sheath were further digested by immersion of the samples
in 6N NaOH for 10 to 20 min at 60℃. After these NaOHtreated blocks were checked under a stereo-microscope,
they were washed throughout in a saline solution, placed
in 1% osmium tetroxide, 1% tannic acid, and 1% osmium
tetroxide for 1 h each, dehydrated in an ascending seriesof ethanol, and then dried by the t-butanol freeze drying
method. The dried specimens were coated with gold andexamined at 15kv in a Hitachi S-800 scanning electron
microscope (Hitachi, Tokyo).

Purkinje network in mammalian hearts

141

Fig. 1. SEM images showing the luminal surface of the left ventricle in human (a) and rat (b) hearts. Muscular trabeculae(T) of various sizes form a reticular network. a:×20, b:×40

Results
General survey of Purkinje fibers
From macroscopic observations, the luminal surfaceof the right ventricle appeared relatively smooth in all
species examined, but the lower half of the left ventricle
had a network of muscular trabeculae in humans,monkeys, and rats. The size of the mesh ranged from 1
mm to 10 mm. These networks were also observed threedimensionally under low magniﬁcation by SEM (Fig. 1).
In the surface view of the sheep ventricles stainedby the modified PAS method, a delicate network of
subendocardial Purkinje fibers was clearly visualized
under a stereoscopic microscope (Fig. 2a, b). However,the Purkinje fiber network in other animals –– including
humans –– was not clearly observed with this method.
When the thick subendocardial connective tissue of thewhale ventricle was digested with the NaOH treatment,
the Purkinje ﬁber network became visible (Fig. 2c).
In sections stained with hematoxylin and eosin,
Purkinje cells were found to be distributed not only inthe subendocardial layer but also within the muscular
trabeculae. However, the morphological feature of thecells greatly varied depending on the animal species:
Purkinje cells in both the ungulates (sheep and goats)and the cetaceans (whales and dolphins ) were clearly
identiﬁed by their light cell bodies with one or two nuclei
and a few peripherally-placed myofibrils. They were

found not only in the subendocardium but also within the
myocardium. In contrast, human Purkinje cells showeda light appearance and had relatively scarce myofibrils
as compared with working cardiac myocytes. It was
somewhat difﬁcult to identify Purkinje cells in monkeys,
dogs, seals and rats clearly.
In silver-impregnated sections, reticular fibers were
stained deep black while collagen ﬁbers were brownish.
In all animals, each working cardiac myocyte wassurrounded by a reticular ﬁber sheath (Fig. 3). In contrast,
the reticular ﬁber sheaths in the Purkinje ﬁbers varied in
conﬁguration by species. In sheep, goats, dolphins, andwhales, the sheath surrounded Purkinje strands consistingof bundles of 2 – 8 oval cells (Fig. 3a, b) whereas thesheath surrounded individual Purkinje cells in otheranimals, including humans (Fig. 3c, d). In addition,connective tissue elements such as collagen fibers
were present between Purkinje fibers and the working
myocardium (Fig. 3a, b, c).
Purkinje cells in sheep and goats were considerablylarger in size than ventricular myocytes (Fig. 3a). In
addition, the histological appearance of Purkinje cells inwhales and dolphins was almost identical to that in sheep(Fig. 3b). Human Purkinje cells were apparently larger
in size than working cardiac myocytes (Fig. 3c) whilemonkey Purkinje cells were smaller in diameter thanventricular myocytes. Purkinje cells in dogs and seals
were slightly larger in size as compared with ventricular
myocytes. Those in rats were found in the muscular

142

N. Ono et al.:Fig. 2. Stereoscopic micrographs of the Purkinje network (P) of the left ventricle in a sheep (a, b) and fetal whale (c). A
delicate network of Purkinje ﬁbers can be seen. a: Non-staining, b: modiﬁed PAS reaction, c:NaOH-treatment. ×50

Fig. 3. Light micrographs of the ventricular endocardial region impregnated with silver. In the sheep (a) and whale (b) heart,
Purkinje strands (PS) consisting of 2– 8 cells are surrounded by the reticular ﬁber sheath whereas each Purkinje cell (P) in thehuman (c) and rat (d) is surrounded by the sheath. Individual ventricular myocytes (M) in all mammals are surrounded by thesheath. ×130

Purkinje network in mammalian hearts

143

Fig. 4. SEM image showing theluminal surface of the left ventricleof the whale heart. The NaOH
treatment enabled us to view the
Purkinje network. ×260. Inset
shows a Purkinje network in the
sheep heart. The Purkinje strands(PS) consisting of some oval cells
form the network. ×110

trabeculae and were apparently smaller in size thanventricular myocytes (Fig. 3d).
Three-dimensional architecture of the Purkinje
network
It is difﬁcult to observe Purkinje ﬁbers by conventional
SEM because the fibers are distributed in the
subendocardial region and enveloped by the connective
tissue sheath. Thus, in this study, the endocardialendothelium was removed by scraping it mechanicallywith the finger tip or by treating it chemically with
NaOH followed by ultrasonication. The subendocardialconnective tissue and the reticular fiber sheath werealso digested by the NaOH treatment. The immersionof cardiac blocks in 6N NaOH solution for 10 – 15 min

at 60℃ was effective for the removal of the connective
tissue elements, thus enabling the three-dimensional
visualization of the Purkinje ﬁber network by SEM (Fig.
4– 6). However, the myocardium was not clearly observed
since the connective tissue between Purkinje fibers
and the myocardium was not digested. An additional
i m m e r s i o n i n 6 N N a O H s o l u t i o n w a s s o me t i m e snecessary to expose both Purkinje ﬁbers and ventricular
myocytes by SEM (Fig. 7, 8).
The configuration of the Purkinje network slightly
varied depending on the animal species. In goats andsheep, Purkinje strands consisting of 2 – 8 oval cells
formed a reticular network (see also papers by Shimada etal., 1983, 1986). The mesh of Purkinje ﬁber networks was
relatively large in size, ranging from 200μm to 1500μm.
Whales also had Purkinje strands consisting of 2 – 8

144

N. Ono et al.:Fig. 5. Purkinje network (P) andmuscular trabeculae (T) in thehuman heart. Purkinje cells runningin parallel within the trabeculae arecontinuous with a delicate networkof polygonal or stellate cells. ×120

oval cells forming a delicate network (Fig. 4), as also
shown in a stereoscopic micrograph (Fig. 2c). The sizeof the mesh ranged between 20 and 80μm. The Purkinje
ﬁber network in the dolphin was almost the same as thatof the whales when viewd by SEM. Thus, the Purkinje
ﬁber network in the cetaceans was ultimately similar in
conﬁguration to that in the ungulates.
L o w - p o w e r S E M im a g e s s h o w e d a n e t w o r k o f
muscular trabeculae in the human left ventricle (Fig.
1a). In NaOH treated specimens, the muscular trabeculae
consisted of bundles of 4 – 8 cylindrical cells, which ran
parallel to each other (Fig. 5). These trabeculae were
continuous with a ﬁne, complicated network of Purkinjecells (Fig. 5). The mesh size of the Purkinje network
varied considerably, ranging from 20 to 300 um.
In dogs, muscular strands consisting of 4 – 8 cylindricalcells formed a rough network, whose meshes ranged insize from 200 to 500μm (Fig. 6). These strands were
continuous with a ﬁne, complicated network of Purkinjecells (Fig. 6) similar to the human Purkinje network (Fig.
5).
Cytoarchitecture of Purkinje networks
In the present study, the treatment of the cardiac tissue
with 6N NaOH for the 20 min was used for the direct
visualization of both Purkinje cells and working cardiac
myocytes by SEM because connective tissue elements
such as collagen and reticular fibers could almost bedigested with this treatment. In these specimens, there
was no essential difference in the cytoarchitecture of theventricular myocardium between species: the ventricularPurkinje network in mammalian hearts

145

Fig. 6. Purkinje network (P) andmuscular trabeculae (T) in the
dog heart. The Purkinje networkshows a considerably complicatedcytoarchitecture while Purkinjecells in trabeculae run in a straightline. ×120

myocytes were generally cylindrical in form and arrangedin parallel, but often bifurcated and connected withadjacent cells to make a complex architecture (Fig. 7a,c, e, f, 8b). The myocytes were typically connected with
one another in end-to-end fashion at the intercalated
disks although they also occasionally made side-to-sideconnections along the lateral surface in rats (Fig. 8b).
In contrast, the Purkinje fiber network considerably
varied in cytoarchitecture depending on the animal
species. Purkinje cells in the whales and dolphins were
fundamentally similar in cytoarchitecture to those in
sheep and goats. These cells were oval or sphericaland connected with adjacent cells with both end-to-end
and side-to-side contacts (Fig. 4, 7a, b), thus forming
Purkinje strands composed of 2 – 8 cells. The strands hadlarge diameters (30μm or more) and anastomosed in the

Purkinje ﬁber network.
Purkinje cells running within muscular trabeculae
in humans and monkeys were generally cylindrical inform and arranged in parallel by making end-to-end
connections (Fig. 5, 7d). However, some Purkinje cells
showed a polygonal or stellate form in the Purkinje ﬁber
network (Fig. 5) and at the Purkinje cell-ventricular
myocyte junctional region (P-M junction) (Fig. 7c). The
human Purkinje cells were larger in size (about 20 – 40μm) than ventricular myocytes (about 10μm).
In dogs, the cells in the Purkinje fiber network
were usually cylindrical in form, but assumed apolygonal or stellate form at the bifurcations (Fig. 6,7e). The cytoarchitecture of the network in dogs was
fundamentally similar to that in humans. In seals, Purkinjecells were also larger in size than ventricular myocytes

146

N. Ono et al.:Fig. 7. Surface views of Purkinje cells (P) and ventricular myocytes (M). Purkinje cells in the sheep (a) and whale (b) areoval and considerably larger in diameter than ventricular myocytes. Purkinje cells in the human (c), monkey (d), dog (e) andseal (f) are usually cylindrical and are connected end-to-end with each other. At the human P-M junctional region(arrows),
Purkinje cells are polygonal (c) and become larger. a:×380, b:×300, c:×300, d:×900, e:×300, f:×380(Fig. 7f) and were usually cylindrical in form.
In rat ventricles, Purkinje cells had a cylindricalform, ran in parallel within muscular trabeculae (Fig.
8a), and were connected with ventricular myocytes inthe endocardium (Fig. 8b). The rat Purkinje cells wereconsiderably smaller in diameter (about 8 – 10μm) thanventricular myocytes (about 18–20μm).

Purkinje network in mammalian hearts

147

Fig. 8. Purkinje cells (P) and ventricular myocytes (M) of the rat heart. Purkinje cells are smaller in size than ventricular
myocytes. a: Muscular trabeculae. b: Endocardial region. ×500

Discussion
The Purkinje network, distributed in the subendocardial
region in ventricles, conducts excitation from the rightand left bundle branches to the ventricular myocardium.
The present study revealed that the Purkinje ﬁber networkin all the animal species examined had certain common
features regarding the conﬁguration and cytoarchitecture.
On the other hand, we also showed that the Purkinje ﬁber
network does vary in cytoarchitecture between species
and can be divided into three groups, as introduced by
Canale et al. (1986).
The representative of group I is the Purkinje fiber
network in the ungulates. In the present study, it was
only in ungulates (sheep and goats) that strands of
2 – 8 oval cells formed the Purkinje fiber network withrelatively large meshes like a ﬁsh-net, as also shown inprevious papers (Shimada et al., 1983, 1986; Canale etal., 1986). The Purkinje cells were much larger in size
than ventricular myocytes, oval and connected witheach other with end-to-end or side-to-side contacts.
Electrophysiologically, it has been established thatthe conduction velocity is proportional to the size of
cardiac muscle cells and their gap junctions. Because the
Purkinje fibers in the sheep and bovine heart possesses
desmosomes and large gap junctions (Canale et al., 1986;

Shimada et al., 1986; Sugi and Hirakow, 1986), thePurkinje fiber network in ungulates is morphologicallyconsidered to have fast conduction properties. In addition,
Purkinje strands consisting of some oval cells wereencircled by a reticular ﬁber sheath which was thicker anddenser than that surrounding each ventricular myocyte(Morita et al., 1991). Thus, the cytoarchitecture of the
Purkinje strands in ungulates may play an important rolein the maintenance of the rapid and stable propagationof impulses, in companion association with the thickreticular ﬁber sheath.
For the Purkinje ﬁber network in group II, this is thefirst report that visualized a three-dimensional networkof Purkinje cells in humans and dogs by SEM. Unlike
sheep Purkinje cells, the cells in humans and dogs wereusually cylindrical or fusiform in shape, ran in parallel,
and made end-to-end contacts at the intercalated disks.
These ﬁndings imply that the longitudinal propagation is
the main route in humans and dogs. The human Purkinjecells were larger in size than ventricular myocytes andbelong to fast (2 – 4 m/sec) cardiac fibers (Cranefield
et al., 1972). We also showed in humans and dogs that
Purkinje cells with polygonal and stellate shapes formed
a delicate and complicated network at the bifurcations,suggesting that the propagation of impulses appears tobe successfully controlled at these sites of the Purkinje
network.

148

N. Ono et al.:

In group III comprising rats and mice, Purkinje cells
were very similar in appearance to ventricular myocytes(Canale et al., 1986). Purkinje cells in the present study
were considerably smaller in size than ventricular
myocytes. We also showed the presence of large andsmall networks of muscular trabeculae in rat ventricles;
Purkinje cells running within these trabeculae werecylindrical in shape , arranged in parallel, and were
continuous with ventricular myocytes in the endocardium.
These ﬁndings are in accord with the fact that the heart
rate in rats and mice is very rapid, being above 250 and
700 beats per minute, respectively (Sawazaki, 1985;
Noujaim et al., 2004).
The present study also demonstrated that the Purkinje
network in whales is fundamentally similar to that in the
sheep, indicating that the cetaceans belong to group I.
On the other hand, the network in seals resembled that indogs or group II . Phylogenetically, cetaceans are closely
related to ungulates, while pinnipeds such as seals areclosely related to carnivores (Gibson et al., 2005).
In conclusion, the present study precisely revealed
the cytoarchitecture of the Purkinje fiber network in
the heart of different animal species, especially by
SEM. We demonstrated that the cytoarchitecture of
the Purkinje fiber network can be divided into threegroups –– as introduced previously –– , and also showedthat the morphological variations in each group may
reflect the conducting function of the network as well
as be concerned with phylogeny. On the other hand, thevariations may also be related to the size of the heart. In
the largest mammalian hearts in cetaceans and ungulates(group I) , not only the subendocardial but also theintramural Purkinje networks participate in efficient
expansion of the excitation throughout the ventricularwall (Ryu et al., 2009). Accordingly, it is reasonable toconsider that the subendocardial Purkinje ﬁber networks
have relatively larger meshes in these animals. The
relatively larger hearts in humans and dogs (group II) had
abundant muscular trabeculae, including Purkinje cells.
In addition, a fine and delicated Purkinje network may
contribute to the rapid conduction of excitation to thesubendocardial myocardium.
Acknowlegments
The authors are deeply grateful to Drs. T. Tanaka(Umitamago, Oita) and T. Shimomura (Ehime University)
for their experimental support. We also wish to thank Mr.
H. Kawazato, Miss A. Yasuda, Miss M. Kimoto, and Dr.
Ma for experimental assistance.

References
Ansari A, Siew Yen Ho, Anderson R H: Distribution of
the Purkinje ﬁbres in the sheep heart. Anat Rec 254: 9297(1999).
Asami I: Anatomie des Vorhofsteils des Atrioventricularsystems beim Walherzen. (in Japanese) Acta
Anat Nippon 33: 1-15 (1958).
Canale E D, Campbell G R, Smolich J J, Campbell J H:
Cardiac muscle. In:Handbook of Microscopic Anatomy,
Vol.Ⅱ/7 (Oksche A, Vollrath L, ed), Springer-Verlag,
Berlin-Heidelberg-New York-Tokyo, 1986 (p.60-103).
Cardwell J C, Abramson D I: The atrioventricular
conduction system of the beef heart. Am J Anat 49:
167-192 (1931).
Cranefield PF, Wit AL, Hoffman BF: Conduction of
the cardiac impulse. III Characteristics of very slow
conduction. J Gen Physiol 59: 227-246 (1972).
Gibson A, Gowri-Shankar V, Higgs P G, Rattray M: A
comprehensive analysis of mammalian mitochondrial
genome base composition and improved phylogenetic
methods. Mol Biol Evol 22: 251-264 (2005).
Ijiri T, Ashihara T, Yamaguchi T, Takayama K, Igarashi
T, Shimada T, Namba T, Haraguchi R, Nakazawa K: A
procedual method for modeling the Purkinje ﬁbers of
the heart. J Physiol Sci 58: 481-486 (2008).
James T N, Kawamura K, Meijler F L, Yamamoto S,
Terasaki F, Hayashi T: Anatomy of the sinus node, AV
node, and His bundle of the heart of the sperm whale(Physeter macrocephalus), with a note on the absenceof an os cordis. Anat Rec 242: 355-373 (1995).
Morita T, Shimada T, Kitamura H, Nakamura M:
Demonstration of connective tissue sheaths surrounding
working myocardial cells and Purknje cells of the sheep
moderator band. Arch Histol Cytol 54: 539-550 (1991).
Murakami T, Fukushima S, Kuroki S, Nasu T, Saito I,
Shimada T: Scanning electron microscopy of Purkinje
ﬁbers in the bovine heart. Adv Anim Cardiol 19: 63-69(1986).
Noujaim SF, Lucca E, Munoz V, Persaud D, Berenfeld
O, Meijler FL, Jalife J: From mouse to whale : A
universal scaling relation for the PR interval of theelectrocardiogram of mammals. Circulation 110: 28022808 (2004).
Otsuka N, Hara T, Kataoka A: Experimentelle
Untersuchungen der PAS-Reaktion zur Darstellung desReizleitungssystems am Hundeherzen.(in Japanese)
Acta Anat Nippon 41: 1-6 (1966).
Purkinje J: Mikroskopisch-neurologische Beobachtungen.
Arch Anat Physiol wiss Med 12: 281-295 (1845).

Purkinje network in mammalian hearts

Ryu S, Yamamoto S, Andersen CR, Nakazawa K, Miyake
F, James TN: Intramural Purkinje cell network of sheep
ventricles as the terminal pathway conduction system.
Anat Rec 292: 12-22 (2009).
Sawazaki: Hikaku sinzougaku (in Japanese). Asakura
Shoten, 1985.
Shimada T, Nakamura M, Kitahara Y, Sachi M: Surface
morphology of chemically-digested Purkinje ﬁbers of
the goat heart. J Electron Microsc 32: 187-196 (1983).
Shimada T, Nakamura M, Notohara A: The Purkinje
ﬁber-myocardial cell region in the goat heart as studied
by combined scanning electron microscopy andchemical digestion. Experientia 40: 849-850 (1984).
Shimada T, Noguchi T, Asami I, Campbell G R:
Functional morphology of the conduction systemand the myocardium in the sheep heart as revealedby scanning and transmission electron microscopic
analyses. Arch Histol Jpn 49: 283-295 (1986).

149

Shimada T, Ushiki T, Fujita T: Purkinje fibers of theheart.(in Japanese), Shinyaku to Chiryou 42:11-13(1992).
Shimada T, Kawazato H, Yasuda A, Ono N, Sueda
K: Cytoarchitecture and intercalated disks of theworking myocardium and the conduction system in the
mammalian heart. Anat Rec 280A: 940-951 (2004).
Sugi Y, Hirakow R: Freeze-fracture studies of thesinoatrial and atrioventricular nodes of the caprineheart, with special reference to the nexus. Cell Tissue
Res 245: 273-279 (1986).
Tawara S: Das Reizleitungssystem des Säugetierherzens.
Gustav Fisher, Jena, 1906.
Zhang L, Ina K, Kitamura H, Campbell G R, Shimada
T: The intercalated disc of monkey myocardial cells
and Purkinje fibers as revealed by scanning electron
microscopy. Arch Histol Cytol 59: 453-465 (1996).