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- To begin, place an anesthetized fish ventral side up into a slit in a wet sponge. Insert the positive electrode into the fish's midline at the level of the bulbous arteriosis. Next, insert the negative electrode below the ventricle and 0.5 to 1 millimeter to the left of the midline to create a bipolar lead across which differences in electrical potential can be measured. Finally, insert the reference electrode near the anal region to ground the electrical signal.
Begin recording, and after a short time, review the trace to ensure that four criteria are met. All wave forms must be visible and distinct from each other. The P wave, which represents atrial depolarization, must be positive. The net sum of the Q, R, and S waves, which represents ventricular depolarization, must be positive. And finally, the T wave, which represents atrial repolarization, must be positive. If the criteria are not met, adjust the electrodes until a proper trace is recorded.
After recording, wake the fish by submerging it in oxygenated water and squirting water over the gills until the gills or the fish begin to move regularly. In the example, we will perform surface electrocardiography on an adult zebraf
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