Accelerans nerve
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Accelerans nerve forms a part of the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system, and its function is to release noradrenaline at its endings on the heart. The heart beats according to a rhythm set up by the sinoatrial node or pacemaker, which is located on the right atrium of the heart. It is acted on by the nervous system, as well as hormones in the blood, and venous return: the amount of blood being returned to the heart. The two nerves acting on the heart are the vagus nerve, which slows heart rate down by emitting acetylcholine, and the accelerans nerve which speeds it up by emitting noradrenaline.[1][2] This results in an increased blood flow, preparing the body for a sudden increase in activity.[3][4][5] These nerve fibres are part of the autonomic nervous system, part of the 'fight or flight' system.
Right where the sinoatrial node is, the negative charge of the interior of the fibres of heart muscles breaks down spontaneously the cells in the pacemaker about 70 minutes each time.[6] As a result of this, a small current sweeps over the atria, which then reaches the insulating connective tissue between the atria and ventricles. When the current reaches this part, the atrio-ventricular node picks it up, thus creating the rhythm of the heartbeats through the rate and strength of each palpitation which is controlled by the accelerans nerve.[2][4]
The accelerans nerve was first discovered on April 23, 1883 by German medical students L.C. Wooldridge, D.S and George Henry Lewes, M.B.[5] Both medical students conducted their investigation in the Physiological Institute of Leipzig. The purpose of the investigation which yielded the finding of the accelerans nerve was to learn more about the function of the nerves which can be observed in the surface of the ventricles of mammalian hearts.[5][6] In their findings, both researches saw that there was an increase in cardiovascular acceleration due to stimulation of the accelerans nerve found in the ventricles of the mammals they studied.[5][7] In Aug 1950, medical researcher O. Krayer confirmed that through electrical stimulations of the accelerans nerve, the force of heart palpitations could be increased which increases blood flow throughout the body, rightly solidifying the importance of this nerve as well as what its manipulation could lead to.[8] More recently, on 24 Feb 2000, the New England Journal of Medicine released a study which revealed the existence of a mutant gene that leads to the development of a transporter that is in charge of the reuptake of noradrenaline back to the accelerans nerve.
The term accelerans comes from the latin word accelerrō which means "quickening" or "to hasten". The term nerve comes from the latin words nervus which meant sinew or tendon in an animal body.