The wall of the left ventricle is thicker than the wall of the right ventricle because the
A) left ventricle must pump much more blood than the right ventricle so it must have stronger walls.
B) right ventricle must pump much more blood than the left ventricle so it has a larger chamber to accommodate the blood and a correspondingly thinner wall.
C) left ventricle must pump the same amount of blood into the high-resistance, high-pressure systemic system as does the right ventricle into the low-resistance, low-pressure pulmonary system.
D) right ventricle must create higher tension within its walls.
E) left ventricle must pump oxygenated blood, which requires more energy than pumping unoxygenated blood.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The left ventricle and right ventricle pump blood to two different types of circulatory systems. The left ventricle pumps blood into the high-resistance, high-pressure systemic system, while the right ventricle pumps blood into the low-resistance, low-pressure pulmonary system. Therefore, the left ventricle needs to have thicker walls to generate enough pressure to pump blood into the high-pressure systemic circulation.

The Wall of the Left Ventricle Is Thicker Than the Wall