English

Noun

foramen ovale ‎(plural foramen ovales)

1. (medicine, anatomy) An opening in the septum between the right and left atria of the fetal heart that normally closes after birth.
   • 1846, London Medical Gazette: Or, Journal of Practical Medicine, Volume 38, page 1077,

     The second point, as urged by Dr. Norman Chevere, "That a closed foramen ovale is not a proof in jurisprudence that a child has lived;" for in this case the occlusion must have existed long before birth.

   • 1953, Sylvester Emanuel Gould, Pathology of the Heart, page 267,

     If the blood entering the right atrium from the great veins contains more emboli, some of these may pass into the left atrium by way of the incompletely closed channel at the foramen ovale.

   • 2009, Abraham Rudolph, Congenital Diseases of the Heart: Clinical-Physiological Considerations, Third Edition, 2013, unnumbered page,

     Thus in those conditions associated with obstruction to the right side of the heart, such as tricuspid atresia or pulmonary atresia with intactventricular^[sic] septum, the foramen ovale is necessary to provide systemic blood flow.

Derived terms

• patent foramen ovale

See also

• hole in the heart