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Glite Dictionary
Purkinje fiber

Purkinje fiber

6.8
A special heart muscle cell that carries electrical signals through the lower heart chambers
  • noun
  • /ˈpɜr.kɪn.dʒi ˈfaɪ.bər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : fibra de Purkinje
  • The Purkinje fibers play a crucial role in ensuring coordinated ventricular contraction.

Examples

  • Researchers observed abnormal electrical conduction along the Purkinje fibers in patients with heart disease.

  • Doctors study the Purkinje fibers to understand cardiac arrhythmias.

  • A blockage in a Purkinje fiber can seriously disrupt the heart's rhythm.

  • The Purkinje fiber network plays a crucial role in heart function.

  • A blockage in a Purkinje fiber can seriously disrupt the heart's rhythm.

  • The Purkinje fibers play a crucial role in ensuring coordinated ventricular contraction.

  • Doctors study the Purkinje fibers to understand cardiac arrhythmias.

Surface Forms

Purkinje fiber singular
Purkinje fibers plural

Morphology

Purkinje + fiber

The element 'fiber' clearly signals a type of elongated cell or threadlike anatomical structure, and 'Purkinje' is an eponym indicating a specific named anatomical class, so a learner could infer this is a particular kind of anatomical fiber. However, the precise function (part of the cardiac conduction system transmitting impulses in the ventricles) is domain-specific and not derivable from the constituents alone, so the term is only partially transparent.

Etymology

The noun Purkinje fiber is named after the scientist Jan Purkinje, who saw very thin, hair-like fibers in the heart that seemed to 'carry an electrical signal'. Like tiny wires, they pass the signal through the heart's lower chambers so those chambers 'beat together', so the name now means the special heart fibers that help the heartbeat.