Animation - Conducting System of the Heart

How are all the components of the heart able to work together without direct control from the central nervous system?

For proper function of the heart it is necessary that all the muscle fibers in a region contract in unison. It is also necessary that all the different regions of the heart contract in a coordinated but NOT in unison. The non-synchronous coordination is accomplished by central control with a time delay. The sinoatrial sends out signals for contractions to the entire heart. These signals are propagated through muscle rather than nervous tissue and are conducted such that they are received by different regions after different periods of delay. This system does not require separate control of different regions of the heart and thus is probably less susceptible to malfunctions.

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