Functional anatomy of right heart valves

This chapter summarizes the anatomical features of right heart valves. The tricuspid valve usually comprises three leaflets (anterior, septal, and posterior) separated by three commissures (anteroseptal, posteroseptal, and anteroposterior). The tricuspid valve apparatus consists of papillary muscles and chordae with high variability in number, length, shape, and arrangement of papillary muscles. The tricuspid valve leaflets are attached to a fibrous annulus with an ovoid saddle shape. The pulmonary valve and the aortic valve have identical architecture: three cusps (anterior, left, and right) separated by commissures, a fibrous ring, sinuses, and the sinotubular junction. Good knowledge of tricuspid and pulmonary valve functional anatomy is of clinical importance in the understanding of primary and secondary valvular dysfunction and in the development of new surgical and percutaneous therapeutic strategies.