There continue to be disagreements concerning the embryology of the ventric- ular septum and the nomenclature of its various parts, as well as on its phylogenetic derivation. It must be obvious that until such time as these uncertainties have been resolved it will not be possible to understand the pathogenesis of ventricular septal defects and other anomalies involving the ventricular septum. In an effort to clarify some of these difficulties a number of individuals, including anatomists, embryologists, pathologists, cardiologists, and sur- geons, all acknowledged experts in their respective...

The material contained in this book was presented at the Boerhaave Course which was held in Leiden, The Netherlands, on May 2 and 3, 1977. It deals with three topics of considerably recent interest, not only to cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons, but also to embryologists, anatomists and pathologists. Papers on the development and the normal anatomy of the conduction system include a discussion of the continuing controversy as to whether dis- crete and anatomically distinct internodal pathways exist in the human heart. These are followed by descriptions of the abnormal anatomy and...