Question at position 19 What triggers the closure of the foramen ovale after birth?A decrease in blood pressure in the atria.The degeneration of the umbilical cord.The first breath of the newborn, increasing blood pressure in the atria.The immediate need for blood flow to the skin for thermoregulation.The beginning of liver function in the fetus.

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Question: What triggers the closure of the foramen ovale after birth? Options: A) A decrease in blood pressure in the atria. B) The degeneration of the umbilical cord. C) The first breath of the newborn, increasing blood pressure in the atria. D) The immediate need for blood flow to the skin for thermoregulation. E) The beginning of liver function in the fetus.

Option A: A decrease in blood pressure in the atria. This is not the trigger for closure. After birth, the resistance in the systemic circulation rises while the pulmonary resistance falls as the lungs inflate, causing a shift in pressures, not a simple atrial pressure decrease, to close the foramen ovale. This statement misattributes the mechanism and timing.

Option B: The degeneration of the umbilical cord. While cutting the umbilical cord marks the transition from placental to pulmonary circulation, the physical closure of the foramen ovale is not caused by cord degeneration itself. The anatomical closure is driven by hemodynamic changes after birth rather than cord degeneration per se.

Option C: The first breath of the newborn, increasing blood pressure in the atria. This is the correct mechanism. The first breaths aerate the lungs, reducing pulmonary vascular resistance and increasing pulmonary blood flow, which raises left atrial pressure relative to right atrial pressure. The resulting pressure gradient promotes functional closure of the foramen ovale, preventing right-to-left shunting.

Option D: The immediate need for blood flow to the skin for thermoregulation. Thermoregulation is important, but it does not drive the closure of the foramen ovale. This choice confuses a systemic need with a specific cardiac structural change.

Option E: The beginning of liver function in the fetus. Fetal liver function is not involved in triggering foramen ovale closure. The closure is a hemodynamic consequence of birth-related circulatory changes, not a hepatic developmental milestone.

Summary: Among the options, only C correctly identifies that the first breath and the consequent rise in left atrial pressure relative to the right promote the functional closure of the foramen ovale after birth. The other choices describe events or needs that do not directly cause this physiological closure.

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