= Right ventricle
The \b[right ventricle] is the <heart> chamber receiving blood from the <right atrium> through the <tricuspid valve> and ejecting it through the <pulmonary valve> into the <pulmonary trunk>.<Anatomy and Physiology 2e by J. Gordon Betts and others>[Section 19.1, Chambers and Circulation through the Heart]{ref} Its output enters the pulmonary circulation rather than passing directly into the <aorta>.
The chamber's volume changes through the <cardiac cycle>. Define <stroke volume> as end-diastolic minus end-systolic volume:
$$
\mathrm{SV}=V_{\rm ED}-V_{\rm ES},\qquad
\mathrm{RVEF}=\frac{V_{\rm ED}-V_{\rm ES}}{V_{\rm ED}}.
$$
The second ratio is the <right ventricular ejection fraction>. In an original example with $V_{\rm ED}=100\,\mathrm{mL}$ and $V_{\rm ES}=40\,\mathrm{mL}$, stroke volume is $60\,\mathrm{mL}$ and ejection fraction $0.60$. At $70$ beats per minute, multiplying stroke volume by rate gives $4.2\,\mathrm{L\,min^{-1}}$.
That last conversion represents net forward output only under its stated assumptions. Significant backward or alternate flow can separate chamber-volume displacement from the amount delivered onward. Nor does an ejection fraction alone provide the chamber's absolute output: chambers with different initial volumes can share the same fraction.
In a steady serial-circulation model without shunts or sustained storage, right- and left-sided net outputs must balance. A persistent difference would accumulate blood somewhere in the system. This conservation statement does not require the two ventricles to generate equal pressure or perform identical mechanical work. Anatomy, volume displacement, forward flow and pressure are distinct but connected observations.
Back to article page
