# What is the left atrium?

The left atrium is called the left atrium. Gray's Anatomy (1918) describes it as the upper left chamber of the heart.

## What it means

- The upper left chamber of the heart.
- Receives oxygenated blood returning from the lungs.
- Passes that blood into the left ventricle.

## Action steps

1. At the back of the heart.
2. Receives the four pulmonary veins.
3. Empties into the left ventricle through the mitral valve.

## Sources

- [Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body (1918)](https://www.bartleby.com/107/)

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