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The left ventricle is one of four chambers
Heart chamber

Heart chamber is a general term used to refer to any of the four wiktionary:chamber of the mammalian heart :*Right atrium : receives oxygen-depleted blood from the body via the superior vena cava and the inferior vena cava and pumps it through the tricuspid valve into the right ventricle....
 (two atria
Atrium (anatomy)

In anatomy, the atrium , sometimes called auricle, refers to a chamber or space. It may be the atrium of the lateral ventricle in the brain or the blood collection chamber of a heart....
 and two ventricle
Ventricle (heart)

In the heart, a ventricle is a heart chamber which collects blood from an atrium and pumps it out of the heart.In a four-chambered heart, such as that in humans, there are two ventricles: the right ventricle pumps blood into the pulmonary circulation for the lungs, and the left ventricle pumps blood into the systemic cir...
s) in the human
Human

A human being, also human or man, is a member of a species of bipedalism primates in the family Hominidae . Mitochondrial DNA evidence indicates that modern humans originated in east Africa about 200,000 years ago....
 heart
Heart

The heart is a muscle organ in all vertebrates responsible for pumping blood through the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions, or a similar structure in annelids, mollusks, and arthropods....
. It receives oxygen
Oxygen

Oxygen no O2 produced; 2) O2 produced, but absorbed in oceans & seabed rock; 3) O2 starts to gas out of the oceans, but is absorbed by land surfaces and formation of ozone layer; 4-5) O2 sinks filled and the gas accumulates]]...
ated blood
Blood

Blood is a specialized bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's Cell s ? such as nutrients and oxygen ? and transports waste products away from those same cells....
 from the left atrium
Left atrium

StructureBlood is pumped through the left atrioventricular orifice, which contains the bicuspid or mitral valve. The normal size of the left atrium varies depending on gender and the size of the individual as determined by the body mass index....
 via the mitral valve
Mitral valve

The mitral valve is a dual-flap heart valve in the heart that lies between the left atrium and the left ventricle . The mitral valve and the tricuspid valve are known collectively as the atrioventricular valves because they lie between the atria and the ventricles of the heart and control the flow of blood....
, and pumps it into the aorta
Aorta

The aorta is the largest artery in the human body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and bringing oxygenated blood to all parts of the body in the systemic circulation....
 via the aortic valve
Aortic valve

The aortic valve is one of the heart valve of the heart. It lies between the left ventricle and the aorta....
.

left ventricle is longer and more conical in shape than the right, and on transverse section its concavity presents an oval or nearly circular outline. It forms a small part of the sternocostal surface
Sternocostal surface

The sternocostal surface of the heart is directed forward, upward, and to the left.Its lower part is convex, formed chiefly by the right ventricle, and traversed near its left margin by the anterior longitudinal sulcus....
 and a considerable part of the diaphragmatic surface of the heart; it also forms the apex of the heart.






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The left ventricle is one of four chambers
Heart chamber

Heart chamber is a general term used to refer to any of the four wiktionary:chamber of the mammalian heart :*Right atrium : receives oxygen-depleted blood from the body via the superior vena cava and the inferior vena cava and pumps it through the tricuspid valve into the right ventricle....
 (two atria
Atrium (anatomy)

In anatomy, the atrium , sometimes called auricle, refers to a chamber or space. It may be the atrium of the lateral ventricle in the brain or the blood collection chamber of a heart....
 and two ventricle
Ventricle (heart)

In the heart, a ventricle is a heart chamber which collects blood from an atrium and pumps it out of the heart.In a four-chambered heart, such as that in humans, there are two ventricles: the right ventricle pumps blood into the pulmonary circulation for the lungs, and the left ventricle pumps blood into the systemic cir...
s) in the human
Human

A human being, also human or man, is a member of a species of bipedalism primates in the family Hominidae . Mitochondrial DNA evidence indicates that modern humans originated in east Africa about 200,000 years ago....
 heart
Heart

The heart is a muscle organ in all vertebrates responsible for pumping blood through the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions, or a similar structure in annelids, mollusks, and arthropods....
. It receives oxygen
Oxygen

Oxygen no O2 produced; 2) O2 produced, but absorbed in oceans & seabed rock; 3) O2 starts to gas out of the oceans, but is absorbed by land surfaces and formation of ozone layer; 4-5) O2 sinks filled and the gas accumulates]]...
ated blood
Blood

Blood is a specialized bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's Cell s ? such as nutrients and oxygen ? and transports waste products away from those same cells....
 from the left atrium
Left atrium

StructureBlood is pumped through the left atrioventricular orifice, which contains the bicuspid or mitral valve. The normal size of the left atrium varies depending on gender and the size of the individual as determined by the body mass index....
 via the mitral valve
Mitral valve

The mitral valve is a dual-flap heart valve in the heart that lies between the left atrium and the left ventricle . The mitral valve and the tricuspid valve are known collectively as the atrioventricular valves because they lie between the atria and the ventricles of the heart and control the flow of blood....
, and pumps it into the aorta
Aorta

The aorta is the largest artery in the human body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and bringing oxygenated blood to all parts of the body in the systemic circulation....
 via the aortic valve
Aortic valve

The aortic valve is one of the heart valve of the heart. It lies between the left ventricle and the aorta....
.

Shape

The left ventricle is longer and more conical in shape than the right, and on transverse section its concavity presents an oval or nearly circular outline. It forms a small part of the sternocostal surface
Sternocostal surface

The sternocostal surface of the heart is directed forward, upward, and to the left.Its lower part is convex, formed chiefly by the right ventricle, and traversed near its left margin by the anterior longitudinal sulcus....
 and a considerable part of the diaphragmatic surface of the heart; it also forms the apex of the heart. The left ventricle is thicker and more muscular than the right ventricle because it pumps blood at a higher pressure.

Development

By teenage and adult ages, its walls have thickened to three to six times greater than that of the right ventricle
Right ventricle

The right ventricle is one of four heart chamber 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....
. This reflects the typical five times greater pressure workload this chamber performs while accepting blood returning from the lungs veins at ~80mmHg pressure (equivalent to around 11 kPa) and pushing it forward to the typical ~120mmHg pressure (around 16.3 kPa) in the aorta during each heartbeat. (The pressures stated are resting values and stated as relative to surrounding atmospheric which is the typical "0" reference pressure used in medicine.)

Function

For excellence of health, the left ventricular muscle must:

  • (a) relax very rapidly after each contraction so as to fill rapidly with oxygenated blood flowing from the lung veins, i.e. diastolic
    Diastole

    Diastole is the period of time when the heart fills with blood after systole . Ventricle diastole is the period during which the ventricles are relaxing, while atrium diastole is the period during which the atria are relaxing....
     relaxation and filling.


  • (b) contract rapidly and forcibly to force the majority of this blood into the aorta, overcoming the much higher aortic pressure and the extra pressure required to stretch the aorta and other major arteries enough to expand and make room for the sudden increase in blood volume, i.e. systolic
    Systole (medicine)

    Systole is the contraction of heart chambers, driving blood out of the chambers. The chamber most often discussed is the left Ventricle . However, all four chambers of the heart undergo systole and diastole in a timed fashion so that blood is propelled forward through the cardiovascular system....
     contraction and ejection.


  • (c) be able to rapidly increase or decrease its pumping capacity under nervous system control.


Pumping volume

Typical healthy adult heart pumping volume is ~5 liters/min, resting. Maximum capacity pumping volume extends from ~25 liters/min for non-athletes to as high as ~45 liters/min for Olympic level athletes.

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