Foramen ovale (cardiac)

Dr Ayla Al Kabbani ◉ and Assoc Prof Craig Hacking ◉ ◈ et al.

The foramen ovale (or ovalis) is the opening in the interatrial septum in the fetal heart that allows blood to bypass the right ventricle and non-ventilated lungs, shunted from the right atrium to the left atrium. Specifically it represents the opening between the upper and lower portions of the septum secundum.

In the immediate postnatal period, the foramen closes under the influence of changing pressures in the cardiac chambers as 1) placental flow ceases which raises right atrial pressure and 2) the lungs become aerated and ventilation occurs, which increases venous return from the lungs which increases left atrial pressure.

After closure a small oval depression in the interatrial wall persists as the fossa ovale.

Related pathology

See also

foramen ovale (head)

References

Anatomy: Thoracic

Anatomy: Thoracic

thoracic skeleton
- thoracic cage
  - ribs
    - typical ribs
    - atypical ribs
    - variant anatomy
  - costal cartilage
  - sternum
- thoracic spine
- articulations
muscles of the thorax
spaces of the thorax
thoracic viscera
- tracheobronchial tree
  - trachea
- lungs
- heart
  - cardiac chambers
  - heart valves
  - pectinate muscles
  - cardiac fibrous skeleton
    - aortic annulus
  - coronary arteries
    - coronary arterial dominance
    - myocardial segments
    - left main coronary artery (LMCA)
      - ramus intermedius artery (RI)
      - circumflex artery (LCx)
        
        obtuse marginal branches (OM1, OM2, etc))
        
        Kugel's artery
      - left anterior descending artery (LAD)
        
        diagonal branches (D1, D2, etc)
        
        septal perforators (S1, S2, etc)
    - right coronary artery (RCA)
      - conus artery
      - sinoatrial nodal artery
      - acute marginal branches (AM1, AM2, etc)
      - inferior interventricular artery (PDA)
      - posterior left ventricular artery (PLV)
    - congenital anomalies
  - innervation of the heart
  - fetal circulation
    - foramen ovale
    - fossa ovale
  - pericardium
    - pericardial space
    - oblique pericardial sinus
    - transverse pericardial sinus
    - pericardial recesses
      - aortic recesses
        
        superior aortic recess
        
        inferior aortic recess
      - pulmonic recesses
        
        right pulmonic recess
        
        left pulmonic recess
      - postcaval recess
      - pulmonary venous recesses
        
        right pulmonary venous recess
        
        left pulmonary venous recess
    - pericardial ligaments
    - epicardial fat pad
- esophagus
  - Zenker diverticulum
  - Killian-Jamieson diverticulum
- thymus
  - retrocaval thymus
- breast
  - nipple-areola complex
  - terminal ductal lobular unit
  - axillary tail
    - foramen of Langer
  - mammary fat
  - Montgomery glands
    - Montgomery tubercles
  - Cooper ligaments
    - crests of Duret
  - retromammary space (Chassaignac bursa)
  - lymphatic drainage
    - Sappey plexus
    - intramammary lymph nodes
  - variants
    - supranumerary nipple (polythelia)
    - accessory breast tissue (polymastia)
    - breast hypoplasia
    - amastia
    - amazia
blood supply of the thorax
- arteries
  - thoracic aorta (development)
  - pulmonary trunk
    - left pulmonary artery
      - aberrant left pulmonary artery
    - right pulmonary artery
- veins
  - superior vena cava (SVC)
    - superior cavoatrial junction
    - variant anatomy
  - inferior vena cava (IVC)
    - inferior cavoatrial junction
  - coronary veins
    - cardiac veins which drain into the coronary sinus
      - great cardiac vein
      - middle cardiac vein
      - small cardiac vein
      - posterior vein of the left ventricle
      - vein of Marshall (oblique vein of the left atrium)
    - anterior cardiac veins
    - venae cordis minimae (smallest cardiac veins or thebesian veins)
  - pulmonary veins
    - bronchial veins
  - thoracoepigastric vein
lymphatics
innervation of the thorax

Article information

rID: 49845

System: Obstetrics, Paediatrics, Cardiac

Section: Anatomy

Synonyms or Alternate Spellings:

Foramen ovale (FO)
Foramen ovalis (FO)

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Cases and figures

Figure 1: fetal circulationFigure 1: fetal circulation

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Figure 2: fetal circulation (diagram)Figure 2: fetal circulation (diagram)

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