The valve between the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery is the

• A. Aortic semilunar valve
• B. Pulmonary semilunar valve
• C. Tricuspid valve
• D. Bicuspid valve

Answer: (B)

The valve between the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery is the pulmonary semilunar valve. Its job is to allow blood to flow from the right ventricle into the pulmonary artery during contraction and to prevent it from flowing back into the ventricle when the ventricle relaxes. Semilunar valves sit at the exits of the ventricles and differ from the atrioventricular valves (between atria and ventricles) by typically having three cusps and lacking chordae tendineae. The correct valve is located at the outflow tract of the right heart, whereas the aortic semilunar valve sits between the left ventricle and the aorta, and the tricuspid and mitral (bicuspid) valves are between the atria and ventricles.