Right ventricle
The right ventricle (lower right chamber) is the lower portion of the right side of the heart. The right ventricle muscle contracts to pump blood out through the pulmonary artery (a large blood vessel carrying blood out of the heart) to the lungs, where oxygen enters and carbon dioxide leaves the blood.
Oxygenated blood then travels to the left chamber of the heart and is pumped by the left ventricle to the arteries throughout the body. Veins carry blood depleted of oxygen to the right upper chamber (atrium) of the heart after which it goes once again into the right ventricle.
| Author | Robin Parks, MS |
| Editor | Kathleen M. Ariss, MS |
| Associate Editor | Pat Truman, MATC |
| Associate Editor | Terrina Vail |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine |
| Specialist Medical Reviewer | Stephen Fort, MD, MRCP, FRCPC - Interventional Cardiology |
| Last Updated | September 1, 2006 |
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise
Last Updated:
September 01, 2006
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