title: The surgical anatomy of ventricular septal defects with univentricular atrioventricular connection.
abstract: Hearts that do not possess one-to-one connections at the segmental junctions almost always produce a univentricular atrioventricular connection. One ventricle is usually large and dominant and the other small, lacking one or two of its components. The ventricular septal deficiency forms part of the circulatory pathway. We take the stance that only hearts that possess a truly solitary ventricular chamber are univentricular. They cannot have a ventricular septal defect, and so are excluded from this study. This review, therefore, is concerned with the morphology of septal defects in hearts in which both atrioventricular junctions are connected exclusively to a dominant left or a dominant right ventricle, and those lacking one atrioventricular connection, where the remaining valve is connected to a dominant ventricle. This morphology in the absence of one atrioventricular connection can be modified when there is overriding of the solitary atrioventricular valve. The ventricular septal defects are analyzed and categorized for the various groups, and the position of the conduction axis is described for the well-recognized entities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, National Heart and Lung Institute, Royal Brompton Hospital, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: S Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: B R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Wilcox
mesh_terms: D006325:Heart Atria / Q000002:abnormalities*; D006345:Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular / Q000145:classification / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000002:abnormalities*; D006801:Humans