[Physical and biophysical aspects of high energy intracardial electrical discharges. 4. Effects of fulguration beads in an isotropic diphasic medium].

Study of the effects of fulgurating electric shocks on an isotropic protein gel more supple than ordinary myocardium provides better understanding of the mechanical effects of fulguration on biological tissues. With a shock and energy level of the type used clinically, a central crater is produced measuring 4 to 6 mm in diameter and a few millimetres deep, surrounded by a crown 30 mm in diameter. Damage due to the mechanical effects of fulgurating shocks is thus 3 to 15 times greater than the size of the electrode. The size of lesions is generally proportional to the energy level and is greater at the anode than cathode. It is also greater with impulses having a short rise time. When the electrode is almost parallel to the wall, the surface area of mechanical lesions is larger and more irregular and it is less deep than when the electrode is perpendicular to the gel.