interventriculaires

Interventriculaires is the plural masculine adjective in French for interventricular, and it is used in anatomy to describe structures situated between the two ventricles of the heart. The term is most often encountered in reference to the interventricular septum, the thick muscular wall that separates the left and right ventricles, and to related grooves or vessels.

The septum interventriculare comprises a muscular portion and, proximally, a membranous part. It contributes to the heart’s electrical conduction via the bundle branches and is essential for synchronized ventricular contraction. Defects in the septum such as a ventricular septal defect (VSD) allow abnormal blood flow, often seen in congenital heart disease; the clinical impact depends on defect size and location.

Surface anatomy includes the anterior and posterior interventricular sulci (sillons interventriculaires), which mark the boundaries between ventricles on the heart’s exterior. These sulci contain veins, such as the great cardiac vein, and arteries, notably the anterior interventricular artery (a branch of the left coronary artery), and extend toward the apex.

In neuroanatomical contexts, the term is less commonly used; the brain contains ventricles, but the adjective interventriculaire is rarely applied to describe cerebral structures.

Etymology: from Latin inter- between + ventriculus ventricle; interventriculaires agrees with the plural nouns in context. See also interventricular septum, interventricular sulci, coronary arteries.

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