What is the left ventricle?
The left ventricle is one of the four chambers within the heart. It is located in the lower left portion of the heart below the left atrium, separated by the mitral valve. The left ventricle is responsible for pushing oxygenated blood through the aortic valve into the aortic arch and onward to reach the rest of the body and deliver oxygen and nutrients to cells and tissues.
The heart is an organ that is divided into several parts, which help perform its main function: to carry oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body (cells, tissues and organs) in order to feed them, and receive carbon dioxide enriched blood to be sent to the lungs, where the oxygen exchange takes place.
The ventricles are the two lower chambers of the heart that form the main part of the organ. They are placed in an area just behind the breastbone and rest on the diaphragm. The left ventricle has a shape slightly more elongated than the right ventricle and is in rear position with respect to the sternum, which relies on a large portion of the diaphragm. It is similar to a cone whose tip corresponds to the apex of the heart, is separated by the interventricular septum and communicates with the left atrium by means through a passage called the mitral orifice. Blood flow is regulated in one direction by the mitral valve (also called the bicuspid valve) because it is formed by two opposite flaps which have different sizes. Between the ventricle and the aorta, there is another opening known as the artery ostium, where there are three other valves present.
Conditions that are associated with the left ventricle include left ventricular hypertrophy and left ventricular noncompaction cardiomyopathy.
- Left ventricular hypertrophy: a condition that causes enlargement and hardening of the muscle tissue that makes up the wall of the left ventricle, usually as a result of uncontrolled high blood pressure.
- Left ventricular noncompaction cardiomyopathy: a rare condition where the muscle tissue surrounding the left ventricle is spongy or “non compacted”.
What function does the left ventricle serve?
The heart is a pump that is known to carry oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to the cells of tissues and organs, in exchange for carbon dioxide enriched blood that needs to be transformed. The oxygenated blood travels towards organs and tissues in the body through the aorta, the artery that carries nourishment to the whole body and further splits into smaller and smaller branches and capillaries. Carbon dioxide enriched blood returns to the heart through the veins, which transform it to oxygen.
The left ventricular has thicker muscular walls, three to six times greater than the right ventricle, and a lower capacity than the right ventricle (a characteristic related to the aorta, in a sense that unlike the pulmonary artery, it has a smaller capacity but greater resistance). It receives blood at a pressure of 8mmHg and pumps it to a pressure of 120 mmHg. In normal conditions, the ventricles relax during the diastole phase, filling with oxygenated blood from the left ventricle. During the systolic phase, the ventricles push the blood into the aorta with enough sufficient pressure to exceed it.
