An auricle is a feature of the anatomy of the heart.
There are two auricles in the heart, one being attached to each of the
anterior surfaces of the outer-walls of the atria (that is, the left
atrium and the right
atrium). Visually,
they look like
wrinkled
pouch-like structures.
Their purpose is to increase the capacity of the atrium,
and so also increase the volume of blood that it is able to contain.
It is useful to know about the auricles - both to
understand the physiology of how they work and contributes to the
overall effectiveness
of the heart, and also because (in terms of anatomy), other important
components of the heart may be described in terms of their position relative
to one or other of the auricles.
(They are called auricles because they were thought to resemble dog's
ears.) |
