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Right Ventricular Diseases

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Anatomic Basis of Echocardiographic Diagnosis

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Abstract

The right ventricle (RV) has not received as much attention as the left ventricle partly due to the fact that primary diseases of the RV are uncommon. Another reason may be the complexity of RV anatomy, which has a distinct inflow and outflow tract. The RV is associated with a tricuspid atrioventricular valve with septal chordal attachments and discontinuity with the pulmonary valve (Figs. 8.1, 8.2). The normal RV is a “D” shaped chamber located anterior and to the right of the left ventricle (LV) in the chest (Fig. 8.3). It is behind the sternum and is the most anterior chamber of the heart. The wall of the RV is usually 3–4 mm in thickness, but it may increase in pressure overload situations such as pulmonary hypertension (Fig. 8.4). Thus the thickness of the ventricular wall is not a good identifying feature of the RV. The RV characteristically has large prominent trabeculae carnae on the inner surface. The tricuspid and the pulmonary valves are separated by the muscular ventricular infundibular septum (Fig. 8.2) This is an arch-like structure composed of the parietal band, the infundibulum, and the septomarginal band, which terminates in the moderator band. This band contains the right bundle branch [1].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Heart Institute Division of Cardiology, University of Ottawa, Ruskin Street 40, K1Y 4W7, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    Dr. Kwan-Leung Chan

  2. Department of Laboratory Medicine, Ottawa Hospital, Civic Campus Carling Ave. 1053, K1Y 4E9, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    Dr. John P. Veinot

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  1. Dr. Kwan-Leung Chan
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Correspondence to Kwan-Leung Chan .

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Chan, KL., Veinot, J.P. (2010). Right Ventricular Diseases. In: Anatomic Basis of Echocardiographic Diagnosis. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84996-387-9_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84996-387-9_8

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