pulmonary valve
- noun
- /ˈpʌlməˌnɛri vælv/
- Specialized
- A malfunctioning pulmonary valve can cause serious health issues, including heart failure.
Examples
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Doctors often check the pulmonary valve during an echocardiogram to assess heart function.
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The pulmonary valve ensures that blood flows only in one direction from the right ventricle to the pulmonary artery.
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The systolic phase occurs when both left and right ventricles force open the aortic and pulmonary valves to allow blood to enter the aorta and pulmonary artery.
Academic text (2012)
Synonyms
A device that controls the flow of liquid or air in machines and instruments
A flap in the heart that lets blood flow one way and stops it flowing back
A part of the heart with moon-shaped flaps that stops blood flowing back after each beat
A valve in the heart that makes blood flow one way between chambers and major vessels
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'pulmonary' (relating to the lungs) with 'valve' (a flow-control structure); it denotes the valve associated with the pulmonary circulation. This is a regular anatomical compound following straightforward noun-composition logic and is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should understand it.
Etymology
Pulmonary valve is a simple image: pulmonary means 'to the lungs' and a valve is like a 'one-way door' between the heart and the lungs. That one-way door stops blood from flowing back into the heart, so the name shows its job.