Ventricle (heart)
Encyclopedia : V : VE : VEN : Ventricle (heart)
In the heart, a ventricle is a heart chamber which collects blood from an atrium (another heart chamber that is smaller than a ventricle) and pumps it out of the heart.
In a four-chambered heart, such as that in humans, there are two ventricles: the right ventricle pumps blood into the pulmonary circulation for the lungs, and the left ventricle pumps blood into the systemic circulation for the rest of the body. (See Double circulatory system for details.)
Ventricles have thicker walls than the atria, and thus can create the higher blood pressure. Comparing the left and right ventricle, the left ventricle have thicker walls because it needs to pump blood to the whole body. This leads to the common misconception that the heart lies on the left side of the body.
Pathology
- Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia
- Ventricular tachycardia
- Ventricular fibrillation
- Premature ventricular contraction
- Pulmonary hypertension, which often leads to hypertrophy of the right ventricle (Ventricular hypertrophy)
- Ventricular septal defect
See also
- Cardiology
- Ventricular action potential
- Ejection fraction
- Ventricular assist device (VAD), a temporary 'blood-pumping' device for patient use while the heart is 'healing' or 'being fixed'
External links
| Cardiovascular system - Heart - [http://encycl.opentopia.com/ edit] |
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| atria (interatrial septum) | ventricles (interventricular septum) | valves (chordae tendinae, papillary muscle)
right heart: (vena cavae, coronary sinus) → right atrium (fossa ovalis) → tricuspid valve → right ventricle → pulmonic valve
left heart: (pulmonary veins) → left atrium → mitral valve → left ventricle → aortic valve pericardium | epicardium | endocardium | myocardium conduction system: cardiac pacemaker | Purkinje fibers | bundle of His | SA node | AV node |
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