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The right atrium (in older texts termed the "right auricle") 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 ventricles
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...
) 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 deoxygen
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 superior
Superior vena cava

The superior vena cava is a large, yet short vein that carries deoxygenated blood from the upper half of the body to the heart's right atrium....
 and inferior
Inferior vena cava

The inferior vena cava is the large vein that carries de-oxygenated blood from the lower half of the body into the right atrium of the heart....
 vena cava and the coronary sinus
Coronary sinus

The coronary sinus is a collection of veins joined together to form a large vessel that collects blood from the myocardium of the heart. It is present in humans and other animals....
, and pumps it into 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....
 through the tricuspid valve
Tricuspid valve

The tricuspid valve is on the right side of the heart, between the right atrium and the right ventricle. The normal tricuspid valve usually has three leaflets and three papillary muscles....
.

The sinoatrial node
Sinoatrial node

The sinoatrial node is the impulse generating tissue located in the right atrium of the heart, and thus the generator of sinus rhythm. It is a group of cells positioned on the wall of the right atrium, near the entrance of the superior vena cava....
 (SAN) is located within this chamber next to the vena cava. This is a group of pacemaker cells which spontaneously depolarize to create an action potential.






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The right atrium (in older texts termed the "right auricle") 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 ventricles
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...
) 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 deoxygen
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 superior
Superior vena cava

The superior vena cava is a large, yet short vein that carries deoxygenated blood from the upper half of the body to the heart's right atrium....
 and inferior
Inferior vena cava

The inferior vena cava is the large vein that carries de-oxygenated blood from the lower half of the body into the right atrium of the heart....
 vena cava and the coronary sinus
Coronary sinus

The coronary sinus is a collection of veins joined together to form a large vessel that collects blood from the myocardium of the heart. It is present in humans and other animals....
, and pumps it into 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....
 through the tricuspid valve
Tricuspid valve

The tricuspid valve is on the right side of the heart, between the right atrium and the right ventricle. The normal tricuspid valve usually has three leaflets and three papillary muscles....
.

The sinoatrial node
Sinoatrial node

The sinoatrial node is the impulse generating tissue located in the right atrium of the heart, and thus the generator of sinus rhythm. It is a group of cells positioned on the wall of the right atrium, near the entrance of the superior vena cava....
 (SAN) is located within this chamber next to the vena cava. This is a group of pacemaker cells which spontaneously depolarize to create an action potential. The cardiac action potential then spreads across both atria causing them to contract forcing the blood they hold into their corresponding ventricles.

In early life, when a fetus
Fetus

A fetus is a developing mammal or other viviparous vertebrate, after the embryonic stage and before childbirth. The plural is fetuses, or sometimes feti....
 is in the womb, the right atrium has a hole within its septum
Interatrial septum

The interatrial septum is the wall of tissue that separates the right atrium and left atrium of the heart....
 through to the left atrium, this makes them continuous with each other which is essential for fetal circulation. This junction is called the “Foramen ovale." Once born (usually within 9 month's time) the Foreman Ovale seals over. This occurs when the first breath is taken; fetal blood flow is reversed and now travels through the lungs no longer requiring the Foramen Oval. Therefore it closes and is renamed as the “Fossa Ovalis”. The Fossa Ovalis is seen as an embryonic remnant.

In some cases, the Formane Ovale fails to close and is present in 20% of the general population, however it does not cause problems in the vast majority. This is known as "Patent Foramen Ovale".

Within the fetal right atrium, blood from the inferior vena cava and the superior vena flow in separate streams to different locations in the heart, and this has been reported to occur through the Coanda effect.

The right atrium also holds the coronary sinus which is the opening of the vein that drains the myocardium itself. Attached to the right atrium is the right auricular appendix
Right auricular appendix

Quincy Lavell Lewis is an United States professional basketball player. He currently plays with the pro club CB Bilbao Berri in Spain....
.