| Tricuspid valve | |
|---|---|
| Anterior (frontal) view of the opened heart. White arrows indicate normal blood flow. (Tricuspid valve labeled at bottom left.) | |
| Base of ventricles exposed by removal of the atria. (Tricuspid valve visible at bottom right.) | |
| Latin | valva atrioventricularis dextra, valvula tricuspidalis |
| Gray's | subject #138 531 |
| MeSH | Tricuspid+Valve |
The tricuspid valve, or right atrioventricular valve, is on the right dorsal side of the mammalian heart, between the right atrium and the right ventricle. The normal tricuspid valve usually has three leaflets and three papillary muscles. They are connected to the papillary muscles by the chordae tendineae, which lie in the right ventricle. Tricuspid valves will not always consist of three leaflets and may also occur with two or four leaflets; the number may change during one's lifetime.[1]
Tricuspid regurgitation is not uncommon in the tricuspid valve.
It is a common valve to be infected (endocarditis) in IV drug users.[2][3] Patients who inject narcotics or other drugs intravenously may introduce infection, which will travel to the right side of the heart, most often caused by S. aureus.[4] In other patients without a history of intravenous exposure, endocarditis is more frequently left-sided.[4]
The tricuspid valve can be affected by rheumatic fever, which can cause tricuspid stenosis or tricuspid insufficiency (also called tricuspid regurgitation).[5] Some patients are born with congenital abnormalities of the tricuspid valve. Congenital apical displacement of the tricuspid valve is called Ebstein's anomaly and typically causes significant tricuspid regurgitation.
The first endovascular tricuspid valve implant was performed by surgeons at the Cleveland Clinic.[6]
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