What is a ventricle and its function?

• A. The chamber that receives blood from the body
• B. A structure that filters blood
• C. A large chamber in the lower heart; pumps blood out of the heart into the systemic circulation
• D. The chamber that aerates blood in the lungs

Answer: (C)

Ventricles are the two lower chambers of the heart responsible for pumping blood out to the body and to the lungs. Each ventricle receives blood from an atrium and then propels it into an artery—the right ventricle to the lungs, the left ventricle to the body (systemic circulation). The option describes a large chamber in the lower heart that pumps blood out into the systemic circulation, which captures the main function of a ventricle: to push blood out of the heart to circulate. This reflects how ventricles drive the main circulation of blood through the body.