Left auricular appendix
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| Left auricular appendix | |
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| Heart seen from above. (Left auricula labeled at bottom left.) | |
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| Section of the heart showing the ventricular septum. (Left auricula labeled at upper right.) | |
| Latin | auricula sinistra |
| Gray's | subject #138 533 |
| Dorlands/Elsevier | a_73/12169673 |
The left auricular appendix (left auricula, left auricle) is a conical muscular pouch connected to the left atrium of the heart. It is somewhat constricted at its junction with the principal cavity; it is longer, narrower, and more curved than the right auricular appendix, and its margins are more deeply indented.
It is directed forward and toward the right and overlaps the root of the pulmonary artery.
In older texts, the term "left auricle" was often used to describe the structure now known as the left atrium.
In atrial fibrillation, thrombi are thought to arise from the left auricle, which may lead to ischaemic damage to the brain, kidneys, or other organs supplied by the systemic circulation.
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