Cardiovascular Monitor Technician - ECG History and Topographic Anatomy

Vocabulary terms and definitions covering the historical development of electrocardiography and essential topographic anatomical landmarks and directional terms for monitor technicians.

Electrocardiograph

The instrument used to record the electrical activity of the heart.

Electrocardiogram

The graphic representation of the heart’s electrical activity.

Luigi Galvani

The doctor who first noted electrical current in skeletal muscle in 1786.

Dr. Carlo Matteucci

Demonstrated in 1842 that the heart produces measurable electrical currents and that a frog heart's electricity is intrinsic, not dependent on the nervous system.

Augustus Waller

Recorded the first human ECG in 1887 using a capillary electrometer and electrodes placed on the chest and back.

Capillary Electrometer

A device that converted tiny voltage changes into movements of a mercury column used by Augustus Waller to produce crude ECG traces.

Willem Einthoven

Invented the string galvanometer in 1902 and won the Nobel Prize in 1924 for producing the first clinically useful ECGs.

String Galvanometer

A fine, silver-coated quartz filament suspended in a magnetic field used to magnify and record the heart's electrical impulses on photographic paper.

Einthoven’s Triangle

An equilateral triangle concept where the extremities (Right Arm, Left Arm, Left Leg) create three distinct points of view around the electric field of the heart.

Myocardial Infarction

A clinical condition recognized in 1910 involving an occlusion (blockage) in a coronary artery that causes death of heart muscle tissue; also known as a heart attack.

Topographic Anatomy

Also known as regional anatomy, it focuses on the study of the relationships between different structures within specific regions of the body.

Anatomic Position

The standard position where the patient stands facing you, feet flat on the floor, arms at the side, with palms forward.

Superior (Cranial)

Toward the head or upper part of the body.

Inferior (Caudal)

Away from the head or toward the lower part of the body.

Anterior (Ventral)

Toward the front of the body.

Posterior (Dorsal)

Toward the back of the body.

Medial

Toward the midline of the body.

Lateral

Away from the midline of the body.

Proximal

Closer to the point of attachment or to the trunk of the body.

Distal

Farther from the point of attachment or from the trunk of the body.

Superficial

Toward or on the surface of the body.

Deep

Away from the surface, further into the body.

Frontal (Coronal) Plane

An imaginary line that divides the body into front and back sections.

Transverse (Axial) Plane

An imaginary line that divides the body into top and bottom sections.

Sagittal (Lateral) Plane

An imaginary line that divides the body into left and right sections.

Midsternal Line

The midline landmark location on the anterior chest.

Midclavicular Line

The imaginary line that runs down the body from the middle of the clavicle.

Intercostal Spaces

The spaces between the ribs; there are 11 spaces corresponding to 12 ribs.

Sternal Angle (Angle of Louis)

The anatomical landmark used to locate the second intercostal space.

Midaxillary Line

The imaginary line that runs down the body from the middle of the axilla.

Anterior Axillary Line

The imaginary line that runs down the body from the front of the axilla.

Sternum

The structure in the center of the chest that provides protection to the heart and supports the ribs.