dots-menu
×

Home  »  Anatomy of the Human Body  »  pages 531

Henry Gray (1825–1861). Anatomy of the Human Body. 1918.

pages 531

  The valve of the coronary sinus (valvula sinus coronarii [Thebesii]; Thebesian valve) is a semicircular fold of the lining membrane of the atrium, at the orifice of the coronary sinus. It prevents the regurgitation of blood into the sinus during the contraction of the atrium. This valve may be double or it may be cribriform.
  The fossa ovalis is an oval depression on the septal wall of the atrium, and corresponds to the situation of the foramen ovale in the fetus. It is situated at the lower part of the septum, above and to the left of the orifice of the inferior vena cava.
  The limbus fossæ ovalis (annulus ovalis) is the prominent oval margin of the fossa ovalis. It is most distinct above and at the sides of the fossa; below, it is deficient. A small slit-like valvular opening is occasionally found, at the upper margin of the fossa, leading upward beneath the limbus, into the left atrium; it is the remains of the fetal aperture between the two atria.
  The intervenous tubercle (tuberculum intervenosum; tubercle of Lower) is a small projection on the posterior wall of the atrium, above the fossa ovalis. It is distinct in the hearts of quadrupeds, but in man is scarcely visible. It was supposed by Lower to direct the blood from the superior vena cava toward the atrioventricular opening.

Right Ventricle (ventriculus dexter).—The right ventricle is triangular in form, and extends from the right atrium to near the apex of the heart. Its anterosuperior surface is rounded and convex, and forms the larger part of the sternocostal surface of the heart. Its under surface is flattened, rests upon the diaphragm, and forms a small part of the diaphragmatic surface of the heart. Its posterior wall is formed by the ventricular septum, which bulges into the right ventricle, so that a transverse section of the cavity presents a semilunar outline. Its upper and left angle forms a conical pouch, the conus arteriosus, from which the pulmonary artery arises. A tendinous band, which may be named the tendon of the conus arteriosus, extends upward from the right atrioventricular fibrous ring and connects the posterior surface of the conus arteriosus to the aorta. The wall of the right ventricle is thinner than that of the left, the proportion between them being as 1 to 3; it is thickest at the base, and gradually becomes thinner toward the apex. The cavity equals in size that of the left ventricle, and is capable of containing about 85 c.c.
  Its interior (Fig. 493) presents the following parts for examination:
Openings » Right atrioventricular. Valves » Tricuspid.
Pulmonary artery. Pulmonary.
             Trabeculæ carneæ
               Chordæ tendineæ
  The right atrioventricular orifice is the large oval aperture of communication between the right atrium and ventricle. Situated at the base of the ventricle, it measures about 4 cm. in diameter and is surrounded by a fibrous ring, covered by the lining membrane of the heart; it is considerably larger than the corresponding aperture on the left side, being sufficient to admit the ends of four fingers. It is guarded by the tricuspid valve.
  The opening of the pulmonary artery is circular in form, and situated at the summit of the conus arteriosus, close to the ventricular septum. It is placed above and to the left of the atrioventricular opening, and is guarded by the pulmonary semilunar valves.
  The tricuspid valve (valvula tricuspidalis) (Figs. 493, 495) consists of three somewhat triangular cusps or segments. The largest cusp is interposed between the atrioventricular orifice and the conus arteriosus and is termed the anterior or infundibular cusp. A second, the posterior or marginal cusp, is in relation to the right margin of the ventricle, and a third, the medial or septal cusp, to the ventricular septum. They are formed by duplicatures of the lining membrane of the heart, strengthened