ven·tri·cle (v n tr -k l)n. A small cavity or chamber within a body or organ, especially: a. The chamber on the left side of the heart that receives arterial blood from the left atrium and contracts to force it into the aorta. b. The chamber on the right side of the heart that receives venous blood from the right atrium and forces it into the pulmonary artery. c. Any of the interconnecting cavities of the brain. [Middle English, from Old French ventricule, from Latin ventriculus, diminutive of venter, belly.] |
ventricle [ˈvɛntrɪkəl]
n Anatomy
1. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Anatomy) a chamber of the heart, having thick muscular walls, that receives blood from the atrium and pumps it to the arteries
2. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Anatomy) any one of the four main cavities of the vertebrate brain, which contain cerebrospinal fluid
3. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Anatomy) any of various other small cavities in the body
[from Latin ventriculus, diminutive of venter belly]
| ventricle (vntr-kl) 1. A chamber of the heart that receives blood from one or more atria and pumps it by muscular contraction into the arteries. Mammals, birds, and reptiles have two ventricles; amphibians and fish have one. 2. Any of four fluid-filled cavities in the brain of vertebrate animals. The ventricles are filled with cerebrospinal fluid. ventricular adjective (v n-trky-lr) |
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. |  ventricle - one of four connected cavities in the brain; is continuous with the central canal of the spinal cord and contains cerebrospinal fluidbrain, encephalon - that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord fourth ventricle - an irregular ventricle between the third ventricle and the central canal of the spinal cord third ventricle - a narrow ventricle in the midplane below the corpus callosum; communicates with the fourth ventricle via the Sylvian aqueduct lateral ventricle - either of two horseshoe-shaped ventricles one in each cerebral hemisphere; they communicate with the third ventricle via the foramen of Monro cerebrospinal fluid, spinal fluid - clear liquid produced in the ventricles of the brain; fills and protects cavities in the brain and spinal cord |
| 2. |  ventricle - a chamber of the heart that receives blood from an atrium and pumps it to the arteriesleft ventricle - the chamber on the left side of the heart that receives arterial blood from the left atrium and pumps it into the aorta right ventricle - the chamber on the right side of the heart that receives venous blood from the right atrium and pumps it into the pulmonary trunk chamber - an enclosed volume in the body; "the chambers of his heart were healthy" |
Translations
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