- For the structure in the thigh, see Fossa ovalis (thigh).
Found in the right atrium of the heart, the fossa ovalis is an embryonic remnant of the foramen ovale, which normally closes shortly after birth.
In a heart specimen of a neonate, the fossa ovalis is translucent, but later in life the membrane thickens. [1]
Clinical significance
Failure of the foramen ovale to close results in a disorder known as patent foramen ovale.
References
- ^ Timothy F Feltes; Allen, Hugh D.; Moss, Arthur J.; Adams, Forrest H.; David J Driscoll; Shaddy, Robert Alan (2008). Moss and Adams' Heart disease in infants, children, and adolescents: including the fetus and young adult. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 10. ISBN 0-7817-8684-3.
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External links
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