Normal Heart vs. Heart with Mitral Valve Insufficiency - Medical Illustration, Human Anatomy Drawing
This medical exhibit features four (4) anterior cut-away views of the heart revealing the various chambers and valves within the heart. The first two images illustrates normal anatomy. The first image shows the mitral valve open with a large arrow symbolizing blood flow through the valve from the left atrium down into the left ventricle. The second image shows the mitral valve completely closed with a large arrow symbolizing blood flow out of the left ventricle up through the aortic valve into the ascending aorta. The second set of images illustrates a deformity. The first image shows the mitral valve open with proper blood flow through the valve down into the ventricle, but the posterior leaflet of the valve is deformed. The final image shows the deformity of posterior leaflet prevents the complete closure of the valve so that when the ventricle contracts blood flows not only up into the ascending aorta but that a significant portion of the blood regurgitates back through the defective mitral valve into the left atrium. This illustration of the disruption of normal blood flow reveals this condition as serious and potentially fatal.