ventricle

(noun)

One of two lower chambers of the heart.

Related Terms

Examples of ventricle in the following topics:

  • Pumps and the Heart

    • Two atria at the top of the heart receive blood and two ventricles at the bottom of the heart pump blood out of 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.
    • Blood pressure is produced by the left ventricle contractions.The rhythm of ventricle diastole, often just referred to as diastole, causes the pulse, which can be felt by holding two fingers to the side of the throat.

  • Electric Activity in the Heart

    • Normally with each beat the right ventricle pumps the same amount of blood into the lungs that the left ventricle pumps out into the body.
    • Physicians commonly refer to the right atrium and right ventricle together as the right heart and to the left atrium and left ventricle as the left heart.
    • These cells form the atrioventricular node (AV node), which is an area between the atria and ventricles, within the atrial septum.
    • This causes the muscle tissue of the ventricles to contract, thus enabling a force to eject blood out of the heart.
    • The two larger chambers are the ventricles.

  • Nerve Conduction and Electrocardiograms

    • The P wave is generated by the depolarization and contraction of the atria as they pump blood into the ventricles.
    • The QRS complex has a characteristic shape and time span, and is created by the depolarization of the ventricles as they pump blood to the body.
    • Finally, the T wave is generated by the repolarization of the ventricles and is followed by the P wave in the next heartbeat.
    • Arterial blood pressure varies with each part of the heartbeat, with systolic (maximum) pressure occurring closely after the QRS complex, signaling the contraction of the ventricles.

  • Blood Flow

    • Both the ventricles are working together in harmony; as tiny amounts of blood are moving in the pulmonary circuit, the remainder of the blood moves through the systemic circuit.