ventricle

American  

[ven-tri-kuhl] / ˈvɛn trɪ kəl /

noun

1. Zoology. any of various hollow organs or parts in an animal body.

2. Anatomy.

   1. either of the two lower chambers on each side of the heart that receive blood from the atria and in turn force it into the arteries.

   2. one of a series of connecting cavities of the brain.

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ventricle British  

/ ˈvɛntrɪkəl /

noun

1. a chamber of the heart, having thick muscular walls, that receives blood from the atrium and pumps it to the arteries

2. any one of the four main cavities of the vertebrate brain, which contain cerebrospinal fluid

3. any of various other small cavities in the body

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ventricle Scientific  

/ vĕn′trĭ-kəl /

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.

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Etymology

Origin of ventricle

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin ventriculus belly, ventricle. See venter, -i-, -cle ¹

Example Sentences

The number likely refers to his heart’s ejection fraction, which measures the volume of blood coming out of the heart’s left ventricle or being drawn into the right ventricle when the heart beats.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 17, 2026

They examined the hearts of young and old mice and discovered that as the rodents aged, nerve fibers disappeared from the left ventricle, the chamber that pumps blood to most of the body.

From Science Magazine • May 22, 2024

Finally, the monkeys received injections of either cardiac spheroids or a placebo directly into the damaged heart ventricle.

From Science Daily • Apr. 26, 2024

But the regulator warned it could puncture a wall in the heart's left ventricle if used incorrectly.

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2024

He stepped on his switch and said, “There are two lacerations of the myocardium; a one-point-five-centimeter laceration in the right ventricle and a one-point-eight-centimeter laceration penetrating the left ventricle.”

From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman