True or False: Blood passes through the tricuspid valve before entering the left ventricle.

Blood does not pass through the tricuspid valve before entering the left ventricle, making the statement false. The tricuspid valve is located between the right atrium and the right ventricle, allowing blood to flow from the right atrium into the right ventricle.

In a typical pathway, deoxygenated blood returning from the body enters the right atrium, moves through the tricuspid valve into the right ventricle, and then is pumped to the lungs via the pulmonary valve for oxygenation. From the lungs, the oxygenated blood returns to the left atrium through the pulmonary veins and then passes through the mitral (or bicuspid) valve into the left ventricle. Thus, blood enters the left ventricle after passing through the mitral valve, not the tricuspid valve.

This understanding of the flow of blood through the heart's chambers and valves is crucial in studying cardiac function and the circulatory system.