Atrium vs. Narthex — What's the Difference?

An open-roofed entrance hall or central court in an ancient Roman house.

The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex was a part of the church building, but was not considered part of the church proper.

Each of the two upper cavities of the heart from which blood is passed to the ventricles. The right atrium receives deoxygenated blood from the veins of the body, the left atrium oxygenated blood from the pulmonary vein.

A portico or lobby of an early Christian or Byzantine church or basilica, originally separated from the nave by a railing or screen.

A usually skylit central area, often containing plants, in some modern buildings, especially of a public or commercial nature.

An entrance hall leading to the nave of a church.

The open area in the center of an ancient Roman house.

(architecture) A western vestibule leading to the nave in some Christian churches.

The forecourt of a building, such as an early Christian church, enclosed on three or four sides with porticoes.

A tall umbelliferous plant (Ferula communis). See Giant fennel, under Fennel.

(Anatomy) A body cavity or chamber, especially either of the upper chambers of the heart that receives blood from the veins and forces it into a ventricle. Also called auricle.

The portico in front of ancient churches; sometimes, the atrium or outer court surrounded by ambulatories; - used, generally, for any vestibule, lobby, or outer porch, leading to the nave of a church.

(architecture) A central room or space in ancient Roman homes, open to the sky in the middle; a similar space in other buildings.

Portico at the west end of an early Christian basilica or church

(architecture) A square hall lit by daylight from above, into which rooms open at one or more levels.

A vestibule leading to the nave of a church

(anatomy) A cavity, entrance, or passage.

(biology) Any enclosed body cavity or chamber.

(anatomy) An upper chamber of the heart that receives blood from the veins and forces it into a ventricle. In higher vertebrates, the right atrium receives blood from the superior vena cava and inferior vena cava, and the left atrium receives blood from the left and right pulmonary veins.

(anatomy) A microscopic air sac within a pulmonary alveolus.

(palynology) A cavity inside a porate aperture of a pollen grain formed by the separation of the sexine and nexine layers, widening toward the interior of the grain.

A square hall lighted from above, into which rooms open at one or more levels.

The main part of either auricle of the heart as distinct from the auricular appendix. Also, the whole articular portion of the heart.

A cavity in ascidians into which the intestine and generative ducts open, and which also receives the water from the gills. See Ascidioidea.

A cavity, entrance, or passage; as, the atrium, or atrial cavity, in the body wall of the amphioxus; an atrium of the infundibula of the lungs, etc.

Any chamber that is connected to other chambers or passageways (especially one of the two upper chambers of the heart)

The central area in a building; open to the sky