The tricuspid valve belongs to the four valves of the heart and is located between the right ventricle and the right atrium. It belongs to the sail valves and consists of three sails (cuspis = sails). The tricuspid valve is located in the right ventricle and is attached to the papillary muscles with so-called tendon threads.
- Cuspis angularis, the front sail
- Cuspis parietalis, the rear sail
- Cuspis septalis, the lower sail
- Right atrium – Atrium dextrum
- Right ventricle -Ventriculus dexter
- Left atrium – Atrium sinistrum
- Left ventricle -Ventriculus sinister
- Aortic arch – Arcus aortae
- Superior vena cava -V. cava superior
- Inferior vena cava -V. inferior cava
- Trunk of the pulmonary arteries -Truncus pulmonalis
- Left pulmonary veins -Vv. pulmonary sinastrae
- Right pulmonary veins -Vv. pulmonales dextra
- Mitral valve – Valva mitralis
- Tricuspid valve -Valva tricuspidalis
- Chamber septum – interventricular septum
- Aortic valve – Valva aortae
- Papillary muscle – M. papillaris
- Pulmonary valve – Valva trunci pulmonalis
Function
The tricuspid valve serves as a valve between the right chamber and the right atrium. When blood is pumped from the heart into the body and lung circulation during cardiac action, the valve prevents blood from flowing back from the right chamber into the right atrium by closing. After the heart has contracted (cardiac action), the heart relaxes to fill with blood again.
To allow this to happen, the tricuspid valve opens, allowing blood to flow from the right atrium to the right ventricle. The function can be compared to a door, depending on whether it is closed or open, the blood can flow in or is prevented from doing so. To prevent the sail valve from overturning, it is well anchored in the muscle of the right ventricle by its tendon threads.
If the valve no longer closes efficiently, we speak of tricuspid valve insufficiency, the opposite happens, so if the valve no longer opens, we speak of tricuspid valve stenosis. In rare cases, the valve may also be missing, this is called tricuspid atresia. However, in contrast to the mitral valve, which is located in the “left heart”, the tricuspid valve is less frequently affected by malformations or valve defects.
