automaticity

(noun)

The ability of the heart muscles to contract independently of each other when separated or in unison when reattached in whole or in groups.

Related Terms

Examples of automaticity in the following topics:

  • Anemia

    • Apart from reporting the number of red blood cells and the hemoglobin level, the automatic counters also measure the size of the red blood cells by flow cytometry, which is an important tool in distinguishing between the causes of anemia.
    • Reticulocyte counts, and the "kinetic" approach to anemia, have become more common than in the past in the large medical centers of the United States and some other wealthy nations; in part, because some automatic counters now have the capacity to include reticulocyte counts.
    • This either done automatically or on microscopic examination of a peripheral blood smear.

  • Arrhythmia

    • The conduction system: Automaticity refers to a cardiac muscle cell firing off an impulse on its own.
    • The sinoatrial node is a single specialized location in the atrium which has a higher automaticity (a faster pacemaker) than the rest of the heart and, therefore, is usually responsible for setting the heart rate and initiating each heart beat.
    • Arrhythmias - types: Arrhythmia may be classified by rate (normal, tachycardia, bradycardia), or mechanism (automaticity, reentry, fibrillation).

  • Reflexes and Diagnosis

    • Newborn infants have a number of other reflexes which are not seen in adults, referred to as primitive reflexes.These automatic reactions to stimuli enable infants to respond to the environment before any learning has taken place .

  • Components of a Reflex Arc

    • When a person accidentally touches a hot object, they automatically jerk their hand away without thinking.

  • Artificial Pacemakers

    • This pacemaker has sensors that detect changes in the patient's physical activity and automatically adjust the pacing rate to fulfill the body's metabolic needs.

  • Expiration

    • Because the lung is elastic, it will automatically return to its smaller size as air leaves the lung.

  • Lungs

    • The elastic recoil of the lungs automatically pulls the lungs inward during exhalation.

  • Spinal Reflexes

    • It is a monosynaptic reflex that provides automatic regulation of skeletal muscle length.