tricuspid valve

(noun)

A heart valve with three cusps that prevent backflow of blood from the right ventricle into the right atrium.

Related Terms

Examples of tricuspid valve in the following topics:

  • Operation of Atrioventricular Valves

    • Valves open or close based on pressure differences across the valve.
    • The tricuspid valve is the three-leaflet valve on the right side of the heart between the right atrium and the right ventricle and stops the backflow of blood between the two.
    • The tricuspid valve functions similarly to the bicuspid valve except that three chordae tendineae connect the cusps of the valve to three papillary muscles, rather than the pair that connects the bicuspid valve.
    • Blood passes through the tricuspid valve the same as it does through the bicuspid valve, based on a pressure gradient from high pressure to low pressure during systole and diastole.
    • Describe the operation of the atrioventricular valves: bicuspid (mitral) and tricuspid

  • Heart Valve Disorders

    • Valvular heart disease is any disease process involving one or more of the valves of the heart (the aortic and mitral valves on the left and the pulmonary and tricuspid valves on the right).
    • Valvular heart disease includes aortic and mitral valve disorders, and pulmonary and tricuspid valve disorders.
    • Pulmonary and tricuspid valve diseases are right-side heart diseases.
    • Both tricuspid and pulmonary valve diseases are less common than aortic or mitral valve diseases due to the lower pressure those valves experience.
    • Ebstein's anomaly is an abnormality of the tricuspid valve.

  • Heart Sounds

    • The two major heart sounds are "lub" (from the closure of AV valves) and "dub: (from the closure of aortic and pulmonary valves).
    • The closing of the heart valves produces a sound.
    • The first heart sound, called S1, makes a "lub" sound caused by the closure of the mitral and tricuspid valves as ventricular systole begins.
    • There is a very slight split between the closure of the mitral and tricuspid valves, but it is not long enough to create multiple sounds.
    • S2 is split because aortic valve closure occurs before pulmonary valve closure.

  • Pumps and the Heart

    • The septum divides the left and right side of the heart, while the valves of the heart ensure that blood only flows in one direction.They include the tricuspid valve-found between the right atrium and the right ventricle-and the mitral valve-found between the left atrium and the left ventricle.
    • The list of heart valves also includes the semi-lunar valves, which are located at the bottom of the aorta and pulmonary artery.
    • Strong tendinous chords attached to valves prevent them from turning inside out when they close.
    • The heart beat can be heard as a sound that the valves make when they close.
    • The ‘lub' sound is made when the atrio ventricular valves close and the ‘dub' sound is made when the semi lunar valves close.

  • Bacterial Infections of the Heart

    • If a heart valve is damaged and covered with a piece of blood clot, the valve provides a place for the bacteria to attach themselves and an infection can be established.
    • The valves of the heart do not receive any dedicated blood supply.
    • When bacteria attaches to a valve surface and forms a vegetation, the host immune response is blunted.
    • The lack of blood supply to the valves also has implications for treatment, since drugs also have difficulty reaching the infected valve.
    • Normally, blood flows smoothly through these valves.

  • Fibrous Skeleton of the Heart

    • The aortic ring encircles the aortic valve.
    • The pulmonary ring encircles the pulmonary valve.
    • Similar to the aortic ring, it provides structural support for the pulmonary valve.
    • The left fibrous ring encircles the bicuspid valve.
    • The right fibrous ring encircles the tricuspid valve.

  • Systemic and Pulmonary Circulation

    • The blood is then pumped through the tricuspid valve into the right ventricle.
    • From the right ventricle, blood is pumped through the pulmonary valve and into the pulmonary artery.
    • Once entering the left heart, the blood flows through the bicuspid valve into the left ventricle.
    • The blood is then pumped through the mitral valve into the left ventricle.
    • From the left ventricle, blood is pumped through the aortic valve and into the aorta, the body's largest artery.

  • Blood Supply to the Lungs

    • The vena cava fills the right atrium with blood, which then ejects blood into the right ventricle by passing through the tricuspid valve.
    • After blood fills in the right ventricle, it contracts and pumps the blood through the pulmonary valve, and into the pulmonary arteries.
    • This blood then enters and fills inside the left atrium, which pumps it through the mitral valve (also called bicuspid) into the left ventricle.
    • The blood fills inside the left ventricle and is then pumped through the aortic valve into the aorta, which marks the beginning of systemic circulation.

  • Structures of the Heart

    • The heart pumps blood through the body with the help of structures such as ventricles, atria, and valves.
    • This deoxygenated blood then passes to the right ventricle through the right atrioventricular valve (tricuspid valve), a flap of connective tissue that opens in only one direction to prevent the backflow of blood.
    • The valve separating the chambers on the left side of the heart is called the biscuspid or mitral valve (left atrioventricular valve).The blood passes through the bicuspid valve to the left ventricle where it is pumped out through the aorta, the major artery of the body, taking oxygenated blood to the organs and muscles of the body.
    • 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.
    • One-way valves separate the four chambers.

  • Heart Murmurs

    • Heart murmurs are pathologic heart sounds indicative of valve and blood flow abnormalities.
    • Positive Carvallo's sign describes the increase in intensity of a tricuspid regurgitation murmur with inspiration.
    • Anatomical sources of heart murmurs include stenosis of the bicuspid aortic valve which tends to appear between 40 and 70 years of age, and stenosis of the tricuspid aortic valve where symptoms more likely to appear after 80 years of age.
    • The first heart sound is caused by the atrioventricular valves--Mitral (M) and Tricuspid (T)--and the second heart sound is caused by the semilunar valves--Aortic (A) and Pulmonary/Pulmonic (P).
    • Heart murmurs are often the result of leaky valves.