What is the function of the auricles (conical appendages through the atria) present in the heart?
Do they have any other function than increasing the volume of blood the heart can hold?
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1 Answer
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The left auricle is a decompression chamber when atrial blood pressure is high (in systole or in some pathological conditions) [1, 2]. Some research claims it also plays a role in cardiac regeneration because it contains cardiac progenitor cells [3].
Probably the right auricle has less important function; also there are fewer studies about it.
References:
Al-Saady NM, Obel OA, Camm AJ. Left atrial appendage: structure, function, and role in thromboembolism. Heart. 1999 Nov;82(5):547-54. PubMed PMID: 10525506.
Bansal M, Kasliwal RR. Echocardiography for left atrial appendage structure and function. Indian Heart J. 2012 Jul 27;64(5):469-75. doi: 10.1016/j.ihj.2012.07.020. PubMed PMID: 23102384.
Leinonen JV, Emanuelov AK, Platt Y, Helman Y, Feinberg Y, Lotan C, Beeri R. Left atrial appendages from adult hearts contain a reservoir of diverse cardiac progenitor cells. PLoS ONE. 2013 Mar 12;8(3):e59228. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0059228. PubMed PMID: 23555001.