What is the right ventricle?
The right ventricle is one of the four chambers within the heart. It has the shape of a triangular pyramid and is located in the lower right portion of the heart below the right atrium and opposite of the left ventricle. The right ventricle is responsible for pushing deoxygenated blood through the tricuspid valve and pumping the blood through the pulmonary valve and through the pulmonary artery to the lungs.
The heart is an organ that is divided into several parts, which help perform its main function: to carry oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body (cells, tissues and organs) in order to feed them, and receive carbon dioxide enriched blood to be sent to the lungs, where the oxygen exchange takes place.
The ventricles are the two lower chambers of the heart that form the main part of the organ. They are placed in an area just behind the breastbone and rest on the diaphragm. The right ventricle has a thinner wall than that of the left ventricle, has a capacity of about 200 milliliters and communicates with the right atrium by means through a large passage and a valve (tricuspid valve) which is responsible for preventing back flow of blood into the right atrium. It is separated from the left ventricle through an interventricular septum. An interventricular septum has two parts: one membranous and one muscular. The membranous part separates the two ventricles and also the right atrium from the left ventricular. The muscular part separates the two ventricles.
Three conditions that are associated with the right ventricle include right side heart failure, double outlet right ventricle and arrhytmogenic right ventricular dysplasia.
- Right side heart failure: a condition that occurs when the right side of the heart can no longer pump blood effectively and in turn, the blood can back up or become congested.
- Double outlet right ventricle: a rare condition that is generally present at birth. It occurs when the aorta connects to the right ventricle instead of the left ventricle (the chamber that normally pumps blood to the body).
- Arrhytmogenic right ventricular dysplasia: a rare inherited disease where the right ventricle’s muscle is replaced with fat and scar tissue. It is also an important cause of ventricular arrhythmias in children and young adults.
What function does the right ventricle serve?
The heart is a pump that is known to carry oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to the cells of tissues and organs, in exchange for carbon dioxide enriched blood that needs to be transformed. The oxygenated blood travels towards organs and tissues in the body through the aorta, the artery that carries nourishment to the whole body and further splits into smaller and smaller branches and capillaries. Carbon dioxide enriched blood returns to the heart through the veins, which transform it to oxygen.
The right ventricle has two openings (orifices) at the base of its shape: one is known as the right atrioventricular orifice or tricuspid orifice, which is guarded by the tricuspid valve and serves as a communication barrier between the right atrium and ventricle, while the other is known as the pulmonary valve, which serves to direct blood flow to the lungs.
