Cardiac conducting tissue. A simplified technique for examination of the SA and AV nodes.

We describe a modified method for examination of the atrioventricular and sinoatrial nodes that displays the major elements of the cardiac conducting system, yet is not time-consuming for the technician. We examined 31 cases in three categories: cases with previous cardiac history, sudden deaths from no known cause, and cases where death was sudden and accidental. All cases showed histologic abnormalities in the cardiac tissue. We contend that our method would permit such examination to be routinely used in the pathology laboratory.