Tricuspid valve
Encyclopedia
The tricuspid valve, or right atrioventricular valve, is on the right dorsal side of the mammalian heart, between the right atrium
Right atrium
The right atrium is one of four chambers in the hearts of mammals and archosaurs...

 and the right ventricle
Right ventricle
The right ventricle is one of four chambers in the human heart. It receives deoxygenated blood from the right atrium via the tricuspid valve, and pumps it into the pulmonary artery via the pulmonary valve and pulmonary trunk....

. The normal tricuspid valve usually has three leaflets and three papillary muscles. They are connected to the papillary muscles by the chordae tendineae
Chordae tendineae
The chordae tendineae, or heart strings, are cord-like tendons that connect the papillary muscles to the tricuspid valve and the mitral valve in the heart....

, which lie in the right ventricle. Tricuspid valves will not always consist of three leaflets and may also occur with two or four leaflets; the number may change during one's lifetime.

Diseases

Tricuspid regurgitation
Regurgitation (circulation)
Regurgitation is blood flow in the opposite direction from normal, as the backward flowing of blood into the heart or between heart chambers. Can be categorized by:...

 is not uncommon in the tricuspid valve.

It is a common valve to be infected (endocarditis
Endocarditis
Endocarditis is an inflammation of the inner layer of the heart, the endocardium. It usually involves the heart valves . Other structures that may be involved include the interventricular septum, the chordae tendineae, the mural endocardium, or even on intracardiac devices...

) in IV drug users.
Patients who inject narcotics or other drugs intravenously may introduce infection, which will travel to the right side of the heart, most often caused by S. aureus.
In other patients without a history of intravenous exposure, endocarditis is more frequently left-sided.

The tricuspid valve can be affected by rheumatic fever
Rheumatic fever
Rheumatic fever is an inflammatory disease that occurs following a Streptococcus pyogenes infection, such as strep throat or scarlet fever. Believed to be caused by antibody cross-reactivity that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain, the illness typically develops two to three weeks after...

, which can cause tricuspid stenosis or tricuspid insufficiency
Tricuspid insufficiency
Tricuspid insufficiency , a valvular heart disease also called tricuspid regurgitation , refers to the failure of the heart's tricuspid valve to close properly during systole. As a result, with each heart beat some blood passes from the right ventricle to the right atrium, the opposite of the...

 (also called tricuspid regurgitation).
Some patients are born with congenital abnormalities of the tricuspid valve. Congenital apical displacement of the tricuspid valve is called Ebstein's anomaly
Ebstein's anomaly
Ebstein anomaly is a congenital heart defect in which the opening of the tricuspid valve is displaced towards the apex of the right ventricle of the heart.-Presentation:...

 and typically causes significant tricuspid regurgitation.

The first endovascular tricuspid valve implant was performed by surgeons at the Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic
The Cleveland Clinic is a multispecialty academic medical center located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The Cleveland Clinic is currently regarded as one of the top 4 hospitals in the United States as rated by U.S. News & World Report...

.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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