A STUDY OF THE S—T INTERVAL IN ONE THOUSAND AND TWENTY-EIGHT ELECTROCARDIOGRAMS

Abstract

The interval of the electrocardiogram from the termination of the S wave to the end of the T wave is being investigated by various observers in order to establish the method of its production and the significance of the variations from the normal. This interval is designated the S-T interval. The present interpretation of the phenomena of the S-T interval rests, fundamentally, on the observations of a few workers. The foremost among these is Galvani¹ who, in 1786, discovered electric currents in the muscles of the frog. The flow of electric current from points of higher potential to points of lower potential was first observed by Nobili,² in 1824, shortly after his invention of the galvanometer. Kölliker and Müeller,³ in 1855, while pursuing investigations similar to those of Galvani, found each beat of the frog's heart to be accompanied by a definite electric current. The next great advance was made