Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Pulmonary-to-systemic shunt
Introduction
A pulmonary-to-systemic shunt is a cardiac shunt which allows, or is designed to cause, blood to flow from the pulmonary circulation to the systemic circulation. This occurs when:
- there is a passage between two or more of the great vessels; and,
- pulmonic pressure is higher than systemic pressure and/or the shunt has a one-way valvular opening.
A pulmonary-to-systemic shunt functions as follows:
- right-to-left in the absence of arterioventricular discordance.
- left-to-right if the great vessels are transposed.
Editor-In-Chief: Template:WikiDoc Cardiology News C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] There can be one or more than one Editor-In-Chief. You may also apply to be an Associate Editor-In-Chief of one of the subtopics below. Please mail us [2] to indicate your interest in serving either as an Editor-In-Chief of the entire topic or as an Associate Editor-In-Chief for a subtopic. Please be sure to attach your CV and or biographical sketch.