The right atrium is one of the main chambers
of the heart. It is the upper chamber located on the right-hand
side of the
body (see the diagram on the right).
The muscular walls of the atria of the heart (LA and RA) are
thinner than those of the ventricles (LV and RV).
A wrinkled pouch-like structure called an auricle (because it's visual apperance resembles a dog's ear) is attached to the anterior surface of each atrium. The purpose of this structure is to increase the capacity of the atrium, and so increase the volume of blood that it is able to contain.
The right atrium receives deoxygenated blood from
the vena cava and pumps it into the right
ventricle (via the tricuspid
valve).
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