atrioventricular canal cushionsmedical dictionary

A pair of mounds of embryonic connective tissue covered by endothelium, bulging into the embryonic atrioventricular canal; located one dorsally and one ventrally, they grow together and fuse with each other and with the lower edge of the septum primum, dividing the originally single canal into right and left atrioventricular orifices.

Synonyms: endocardial cushions.

(05 Mar 2000)