Right Atrium

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The right atrium (in older texts termed the "right auricle") is one of four chambers (two atria and two ventricles) in the human heart. It receives deoxygenated blood from the superior and inferior vena cava and the coronary sinus, and pumps it into the right ventricle through the tricuspid valve. Attached to the right atrium is the right auricular appendix. The sinoatrial node (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.