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Barbara Bush Children's Hospital

The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital
At Maine Medical Center

22 Bramhall Street
Portland, Maine 04102-3175
www.bbch.org


Dictionary: Single Ventricle Defect

Single ventricle defect: a heart usually has two working ventricles (pumping chambers). Having a single ventricle (VEN-trih-kul) means that only one of the two ventricles works well enough to pump blood.

Two diagrams show the position of the heart in the body and a close-up, cross section of a healthy heart. Blood flows from the left atrium into the left ventricle and through a valve into the aorta.