Thorax - transverse section

You selected: left ventricle

The left ventricle of the heart pumps oxygenated blood returning from the lungs to the rest of the body. Blood enters via the left atrium and exits through the aortic value to the aorta, the largest artery in the body. You can feel the left ventricle in action by taking your pulse, or by placing your hand over your ribs, just beneath the breast. The site where you sense the heart beating is called the point of maximal impulse (PMI).

Note the greater thickness of the left ventricle as compared to the right ventricle. The right ventricle pumps returning venous blood to the lungs, a job that requires less work, and thus less muscle.

Key points in this image
lungs | ribs | right atrium | left atrium | right ventricle | left ventricle | serratus anterior | latissimus dorsi | erector spinae | pectoralis major |
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Information
Module Name: thorax
Module Title: Thorax - transverse section
Image Info: Gross specimen.
Created by: Lynn Bry
Contact Email:bryl@medicine.wustl.edu
Last modified: Dec 12th, 1996
Created with Annotation 1.0