Right ventricular myocardial motion has previously been studied with implanted radiopaque markers in animals, but little is known about human RV myocardial motion. Tagged cine MRI was used to define RV motion in 9 normal volunteers (22-30 yrs). The RV was imaged at basal, midventricular, and apical short axis (SA) levels. Percent tissue segmental shortening was measured at equally spaced intervals throughout systole (table). The direction of motion of each tissue segment was also measured. No significant differences in shortening were seen from base to apex at each time point.Assessment of the direction of motion of the RV segments indicated motion in an inferior direction in a pattern of pre-ejection coiling in early systole, and movement superiorly and posteriorly during the remainder of systole. These motion patterns cannot be observed visually from un-tagged images. Characterization of the contractile function of the RV myocardium and patterns of motion (e.g. pre-ejection coiling) using tagging provides unique information that may prove useful in assessing RV adaptation to volume and pressure overload.