Mnemonic

Primitive Heart Tube Derivatives

A memory aid for what each segment of the primitive heart tube becomes.

Expansion

Truncus arteriosus, bulbus cordis, primitive ventricle, primitive atrium and sinus venosus

Expansion

Embryonic segment Adult derivative
Truncus arteriosus Ascending aorta and pulmonary trunk
Bulbus cordis Smooth outflow parts of both ventricles
Primitive ventricle Trabeculated parts of both ventricles
Primitive atrium Trabeculated (pectinate) parts of both atria
Sinus venosus Smooth part of the right atrium, coronary sinus, part of the left atrium

The smooth versus rough distinction inside each chamber is a direct fossil record of this development: the pectinate anterior right atrium is primitive atrium, the smooth posterior sinus venarum is sinus venosus, and the crista terminalis marks the join.

Failure of the truncus to divide gives persistent truncus arteriosus; unequal division gives tetralogy of Fallot.