Ventricle (heart)

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In the heart, a ventricle is a heart chamber which collects blood from an atrium (another heart chamber that is smaller than a ventricle) and pumps it out of the heart.

In a four-chambered heart, such as that in humans, there are two ventricles: the right ventricle pumps blood into the pulmonary circulation for the lungs, and the left ventricle pumps blood into the systemic circulation for the rest of the body. (See Double circulatory system for details.)

Ventricles have thicker walls than the atria, and thus can withstand higher blood pressure. Comparing the left and right ventricles, the left ventricle has thicker walls because it needs to pump blood to the whole body.

v • d • e Anatomy of torso, cardiovascular system: heart Structures atria (interatrial septum, musculi pectinati) • ventricles (interventricular septum, trabeculae carneae, chordae tendinae, papillary muscle) • valves • cusps Regions base • apex • grooves (coronary/atrioventricular, interatrial, anterior interventricula, posterior interventricular) • surfaces (sternocostal, diaphragmatic) • borders (right, left) Right heart (vena cavae, coronary sinus) → right atrium (atrial appendage, fossa ovalis, limbus of fossa ovalis, crista terminalis, valve of the inferior vena cava, valve of the coronary sinus) → tricuspid valve → right ventricle (conus arteriosus, moderator band/septomarginal trabecula)  → pulmonary valve → (pulmonary artery and pulmonary circulation) Left heart (pulmonary veins) → left atrium (atrial appendage) → mitral valve → left ventricle → aortic valve (aortic sinus) → (aorta and systemic circulation) Layers pericardium: fibrous pericardium • serous pericardium (pericardial cavity, epicardium/visceral layer) • pericardial sinus myocardium • endocardium • cardiac skeleton (fibrous trigone, fibrous rings) Conduction system Cardiac pacemaker • SA node • AV node• bundle of His • Purkinje fibers