pacemaker

Our animated explanation of the mechanics of the human heart, and the devices that can assist it. From the archive

pacemaker 

Pronunciation: /ˈpeɪsmeɪkə/ 

NOUN  1951

1A person or animal who sets the pace at the beginning of a race, sometimes in order to help a runner break a record:he acted as a pacemaker for Bannister when he broke the four-minute mile

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1.1A person who sets standards of achievement for others:unbeaten Rangers are the surprise pacemakers

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2A device for stimulating the heart muscle and regulating its contractions.

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2.1The part of the heart muscle (the sino-atrial node) which normally regulatescontractions.

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2.2The part of an organ or of the body which controls rhythmic physiological activity:the brain’s circadian pacemaker which regulates our ‘biological clock’