What is the right atrium?
The right atrium is called the right atrium. Gray's Anatomy (1918) describes it as the upper right chamber of the heart.
What it is
- The upper right chamber of the heart.
- Receives all the deoxygenated blood returning from the body.
- Passes that blood into the right ventricle.
Where it is
- On the right side of the heart.
- Receives the superior vena cava above and the inferior vena cava below.
- Empties into the right ventricle through the tricuspid valve.
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Last verified: 2026-07-18
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