Tricuspid atresia pathophysiology
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Pathophysiology
This defect occurs during prenatal development. Because of the lack of an A-V connection, an atrial septal defect (ASD) must be present to maintain blood flow. Also, since there is a lack of a right ventricle there must be a way to pump blood into the pulmonary arteries, and this is accomplished by a ventricular septal defect (VSD).
Blood is mixed in the left atrium. Because the only way the pulmonary circulation receives blood is through the VSD, a patent ductus arteriosus is usually also formed to increase pulmonary flow.
[Image = Diagram of the human heart (cropped).svg Caption = Anterior (frontal) view of the opened heart. White arrows indicate normal blood flow. (Tricuspid valve labeled at bottom left.) ]