Right ventricle,being a venous chamber has distinct anatomical and physiological features to carry out this function.RV has a complex shape, its triangular in long axis and crescent like in short axis , thin (<5mm) more distendable .Contraction of RV begins slightly early but ends later than LV (30ms )
RV receives blood from RA and ejects in to PA in a sequential manner .The inflow, body and outflow contract somewhat like intestinal peristalsis. This is facilitated by the incremental delay in the electrical depolarization of right ventricle.In physiological conditions, the later half of QRS is responsible for RV activity and RVOT is the last to contract. (This intrinsic electrical and mechanical delay in RV contraction is a physiological inter ventricular desynchrony . One should be aware of this when planning cardiac resynchronisation therapy in cardiac failure. )
Click over the image for an animation of RV contraction.
Image courtesey Oxford spcialist hand book in cardiology :Echocardiography Paul Leeson , Second edition ,.Oxford university press 2012 Multi media .
Note:LV is a fairly elliptical and strongly muscular pump and contracts in a single go with maximum force.(dp/dt).
Final message
Though both right and left ventricle originate from same straight heart tube , developmentally the right ventricle evolves for a different form and function . Now,we realise there are lots of sharing of parental muscle fibers that engulfs and bonds both chambers.(Mind you ,This is the fundamental mechanism of ventricular interdependence.Of course ,IVS is a common wall shared lifelong by both chambers without any (sibling related?) hemo-dynamic dispute !
3D echocardiography and MR imaging has helped us to understand the RV morphology better and exciting articles written by pioneers are available free for those who are interested.
Reference
Dr.S.Venkatesan MD 
Leave a Reply