cor pulmonale /kôr po͝ol′mənal″ē/ [L, heart + pulmoneus, lungs] , enlargement of the heart’s right ventricle caused by primary lung disease. In some patients, the left ventricle also increases in size. Cor pulmonale eventually results in failure of the right ventricle, which cannot accommodate an increase in pressure as easily as the left ventricle. Pulmonary hypertension associated with this condition is caused by some disorder of the pulmonary parenchyma or of the pulmonary vascular system between the origin of the left pulmonary artery and the entry of the pulmonary veins into the left atrium.
