Bioelectricity is the phenomenon of the generation and conduction of electrical impulses by the cells of a living organism – especially neurons, muscle cells and heart cells. It is thanks to it that the body can function and respond to stimuli.
The action of bioelectricity
Neurons – the nervous system
- Neurons transmit signals using electrical impulses (called action potentials).
- These impulses are created by the difference in ion concentrations (e.g. Na⁺, K⁺, Cl⁻) on both sides of the cell membrane.
- When the stimulus exceeds the excitability threshold, a sudden flow of ions occurs, which creates an impulse.
- The impulse runs along the nerve fiber and is transmitted further, e.g. to the muscles, brain or glands.
Heart – Circulatory System
- Heart cells (cardiomyocytes) have the ability to self-excite with electrical impulses.
- The signal begins in the sinoatrial node and spreads throughout the heart, initiating its contractions.
- It is this electrical activity that is recorded during an ECG (electrocardiogram).
Muscles – the musculoskeletal system
- Skeletal muscles also respond to nerve impulses – they contract and relax thanks to the flowing electricity.
- Muscle work is the result of the controlled flow of calcium and sodium ions through cell membranes.
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- Cell membranes have the ability to polarize, i.e. maintain a potential difference.
- Thanks to the presence of ion channels and the sodium-potassium pump (Na⁺/K⁺), cells can “charge” like batteries.
Energy in the body after death
After death, the human body stops actively generating electrical charges, because the brain, heart and nervous system stop working, and they are responsible for electrical impulses in a living organism.
However, the molecules in the body still have electrical charges – atoms, ions (e.g. calcium, sodium, potassium) do not disappear. They are part of matter, so their presence is natural, but they are no longer “managed” by biological processes. After death, cells undergo disintegration processes (autolysis and then decomposition), in which chemical reactions occur – and these can also be associated with the flow of charges, although this is not the same as the active “electricity” of a living body.
After death, the body contains electrical charges in the chemical sense, but it does not generate active bioelectricity like a living body.