ventricle

(noun)

a lower chamber of the heart

Related Terms

Examples of ventricle in the following topics:

  • Structures of the Heart

    • The heart pumps blood through the body with the help of structures such as ventricles, atria, and valves.
    • It is divided into four chambers: two atria and two ventricles.
    • There are one atrium and one ventricle on the right side and one atrium and one ventricle on the left side.
    • The atria are the chambers that receive blood while the ventricles are the chambers that pump blood.
    • Once blood is pumped out of the left ventricle and into the aorta, the aortic semilunar valve (or aortic valve) closes, preventing blood from flowing backward into the left ventricle.

  • The Cardiac Cycle

    • The pulse reaches a second node, the atrioventricular (AV) node, between the right atrium and right ventricle, where it pauses for approximately 0.1 seconds before spreading to the walls of the ventricles.
    • This pause allows the blood in the atria to empty completely into the ventricles before the ventricles pump out the blood.
    • (b) During atrial systole, the atria contract, pushing blood into the ventricles.
    • (c) During atrial diastole, the ventricles contract, forcing blood out of the heart.
    • The delay allows the atria to relax before the (d) ventricles contract.

  • Types of Circulatory Systems in Animals

    • Fish have a single circuit for blood flow and a two-chambered heart that has only a single atrium and a single ventricle (figure a).
    • There is some mixing of the blood in the heart's ventricle, which reduces the efficiency of oxygenation.
    • The ventricle is divided more effectively by a partial septum, which results in less mixing of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood.
    • In mammals and birds, the heart is also divided into four chambers: two atria and two ventricles (figure d).
    • The blood is pumped from a three-chambered heart with two atria and a single ventricle.

  • Glia

    • Ependymal cells line fluid-filled ventricles of the brain and the central canal of the spinal cord.

  • Blood Pressure

    • It is calculated by multiplying the number of heart contractions that occur per minute (heart rate) times the stroke volume (the volume of blood pumped into the aorta per contraction of the left ventricle).

  • Characteristics of Mammals

    • Mammals possess a four-chambered heart, with two atria and two ventricles, that circulates blood through the body.

  • Neurodegenerative Disorders

    • Compared to a normal brain (left), the brain from a patient with Alzheimer's disease (right) shows a dramatic neurodegeneration, particularly within the ventricles and hippocampus.

  • The Nervous System

    • CSF is produced by a tissue called the choroid plexus in fluid-filled compartments in the CNS called ventricles.