J OSBORN WAVE

Abstract

The electrocardiographic tracing provides information of great value in clinical practice, however there are waves that are difficult to identify, and can even be confused with artifacts and/or alterations of the heart rhythm. Therefore, it is essential to know each of the inflections and deflections of an electrocardiogram and its implications. Such is the case of the so-called Osborn Wave J, named in honor of the researcher John J. Osborn, who in 1953 described it in detail in his studies on hypothermia. But Wave J is not exclusive to this clinical condition, it is not even pathognomonic of any entity. However, it appears in numerous pathologies of both cardiac and non-cardiac origin; Even the evidence seems to relate it to sudden death phenomena. Hence the importance of his study and his knowledge.