Remembering the canonical discoverers of the core components of the mammalian cardiac conduction system: Keith and Flack, Aschoff and Tawara, His, and Purkinje

Abstract

This report presents the first comprehensive summary of the factors enabling the discovery of the cardiac conduction system (CCS). Biographical highlights and achievements of the CCS canonical discoverers, hypotheses concerning mechanisms underlying sinus node (SAN) automaticity, use of eponyms to denominate a discovery, famous controversies, possible reproachable behavior (e.g., intellectual support for eugenics in post-World War I Germany) by two of the discoverers, and examples of historical mentor-pupil relationships are discussed.